The Standard Model is just like the periodic table. But… with particles. And keeping the weird names.
The Standard Model was developed through the 1970’s, and was “completed” in 2012, with the discovery of the Higgs Boson. I say ‘“completed”’ because there is always a late guest, and scientist may discover a new particle at any time ( and you can read here). The elements depicted in the model are the building blocks of the universe. They englobe all the elementary particles and the four basic forces.
Matter Particles are the the ones that make up, well, matter. They are called quarks and leptons ( told you about the weird names). Each of these has 6 particles, paired up in one of three categories, or generations -- the lightest and most stable in the first generation and the heaviest and less stable on the second and third.
Force - carriers are the particles that are exchanged to generate the basic forces: strong ( the strongest of all), weak, electromagnetic and gravitational ( the weakest of all). Each of these has their own representative, or boson. For the strong force, the gluon, for the weak, the “W” and “Z” particles, for the electromagnetic, the photon and, for gravity, the not yet discovered graviton. Adding gravity to the Model has been a really tough job, once quantum theory and relativity do not seem to mathematically match up.
Am I forgetting something …? Yes, the Higgs Boson! The commonly called “God Particle” is what gives mass to some of the elementary particles, like the quarks, the W and Z.
Even being a solid theory, there is no way to affirm the Standard Model is completely and irrevocably correct. After all, it does not explain the issue with gravity, nor does it consider anti or dark matter. Anyhow, it is our main guide to the subatomic world today.
I found a really good interactive guide to the Model, by Symmetry Magazine. Take a look
Credits:
Enjoyed a lot your introduction to the topic, persuading in a few words the reader. None scientific words were used in it, yet only simple words, helping all. Also, this easy comprehension spread throughout the post, even though you could clearly explain what you desired!
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