Strange and charm quarks are two types of quarks that belong to the six "flavors" of quarks in the standard model of particle physics. Each flavor of quark has unique properties that distinguish it from the others. Here are some properties specific to strange and charm quarks:
Strange Quark:
- Electric charge: The strange quark has an electric charge of -1/3 elementary charge (e). This is the same electric charge as the down quark and the bottom quark.
- Mass: The strange quark is more massive compared to the up and down quarks but less massive than the charm, bottom, and top quarks.
- Strangeness: The strange quark gets its name from its "strangeness" quantum number. Strangeness is a property that was initially used to explain the long lifetimes and unusual behavior of certain particle decays involving strange quarks.
- Weak decay: The strange quark undergoes weak decays, allowing it to transform into other quarks through the weak nuclear force.
Charm Quark:
- Electric charge: The charm quark has an electric charge of +2/3 elementary charge (e). This is the same electric charge as the up quark and the top quark.
- Mass: The charm quark is more massive compared to the up, down, and strange quarks but less massive than the bottom and top quarks.
- Charm: The charm quark gets its name from its "charm" quantum number. Charm is a property that was introduced to explain the suppression of certain particle decays involving charm quarks compared to decays involving strange quarks.
- Weak decay: The charm quark undergoes weak decays, allowing it to transform into other quarks through the weak nuclear force.
It's worth noting that both strange and charm quarks are not stable in isolation and are typically found within composite particles, such as mesons or baryons, due to the phenomenon of quark confinement.