The particles that make up everything that exists can be broadly classified into two categories: elementary particles and composite particles.
Elementary particles: These are fundamental particles that are not made up of smaller constituents. They are the building blocks of matter and interact with each other through fundamental forces. There are several types of elementary particles, including:
a. Quarks: Quarks are fundamental particles that combine to form protons and neutrons, which are the building blocks of atomic nuclei. There are six types of quarks: up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom.
b. Leptons: Leptons are another class of elementary particles that include electrons, muons, and tau particles, as well as their associated neutrinos. Electrons, for example, are negatively charged particles that orbit around atomic nuclei.
c. Gauge bosons: Gauge bosons are force-carrying particles that mediate the fundamental forces of nature. They include the photon (electromagnetic force), W and Z bosons (weak nuclear force), and gluons (strong nuclear force).
d. Higgs boson: The Higgs boson is an elementary particle associated with the Higgs field, which is responsible for giving other particles mass.
Composite particles: These particles are made up of combinations of elementary particles. They are formed when elementary particles, such as quarks, combine together through the strong nuclear force. Examples of composite particles include:
a. Protons and neutrons: Protons and neutrons are composite particles made up of combinations of quarks held together by the strong nuclear force. Protons consist of two up quarks and one down quark, while neutrons consist of two down quarks and one up quark.
b. Atoms: Atoms are composite particles consisting of a nucleus (made up of protons and neutrons) surrounded by electrons. The different arrangements and combinations of protons, neutrons, and electrons give rise to the variety of chemical elements.
c. Mesons: Mesons are composite particles made up of a quark and an antiquark. They are unstable and decay into other particles relatively quickly.
d. Baryons: Baryons are composite particles made up of three quarks. Protons and neutrons are examples of baryons.
These are just some examples of the different types of particles that make up the universe. It's important to note that our understanding of particle physics is constantly evolving as scientists conduct experiments and refine their theories.