Quantum Physics

CHAPTER17

The Fundamental Particles

In This Chapter

• The presumed set of truly elementary particles
• The relationship between the fundamental particles and the fundamental interactions
• Why gravity doesn’t quite fit the standard model
• Where (some) elementary particles get their mass

In this chapter, we’ll extend our discussion of the fundamental interactions into a more detailed look at the relatively small number of fundamental particles we now know exist. We’ll see which particles participate in which of the fundamental interactions. We’ll find an interesting correspondence between electrons and quarks, and discover that they each come in three ...