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The top quark is the most massive of all known elementary particles, with a mass approximately 180 times that of a proton. Being so heavy, the top quark decays very quickly, with a lifetime on the order of 10^(-25) seconds.

According to the principles of the strong nuclear force, quarks combine to form composite particles called baryons, such as protons and neutrons. Baryons consist of three quarks. However, the short lifetime of the top quark prevents it from participating in the formation of stable or long-lived baryons.

Because the top quark decays so rapidly, it does not have enough time to interact strongly with other quarks and form a stable combination. Instead, it primarily decays into a W boson and a bottom quark, as predicted by the Standard Model of particle physics. This decay mode is favored due to the large mass difference between the top quark and the W boson, allowing for energy and momentum conservation.

In summary, the high mass and short lifetime of the top quark prevent it from forming stable baryonic combinations, and it decays into other particles before it has a chance to do so.

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