The Standard Model of Particles (Standard
Model) is the building blocks and basis of the matter of our universe. However,
this model is not without questions and issues. Despite the fact that the
Standard Model is presented as the crowning glory of quantum physics, in my
humble opinion there are so many questions with the Standard Model that at best
it only represents a rough sketch for the matter in our universe. It is not
possible to talk about the Standard Model without first giving some information
about it. One of the easiest ways to do this is through one of the many charts
that gives a pictorial view of what the standard model is. However, these
charts can be confusing with all of the numbers and symbols on them. So for the
discussion I am about to have a brief description will be better.
There are 16 different “elementary particles”
that make up the Standard Model. However, there could be up to 18 “elementary
particles” if you choose to include a couple of other elementary particles that
are new or theorized. However, for the first part of our discussion I only want
to focus on 4 of the elementary particles in the Standard Model. The 4
particles have different classification but their names are most likely
familiar to you, they are;
- Electron
- Neutrino
(more precisely the Electron Neutrino)
- Two Quarks,
the Up (u) quark and the Down (d) quark.
These 4 particles are commonly referred to as
the “first generation” or “first family” of the Standard Model. And, these 4
particles make up all of the matter known and seen in our universe. Therefore,
they can be considered the basic particles of our universe. And yes, there is
the question of Dark Matter, but for now we will talk about what we can see.
The reality of this situation is that it is the Electron and the two Quarks are
really the elementary particles that make up all of the matter of our universe.
The Neutrino is actually kind of an odd man out. It is formed in high energy
events and it is the most abundant particle in our universe. Other than being a
“placeholder” to help balance energy and momentum collisions it simply runs
around our universe doing its own thing, whatever that may be.
Working with the two quarks, these elementary
particles are the building blocks of the proton and neutron. The proton is made
up of two up quarks and one down quark, common notation I will use is (uud =
P), while the neutron is made up of two down quarks and one up quark, (udd =
N). Recall, the Proton and Neutron make up the nucleus of the atom and the
electron hangs out just outside of the nucleus. The atom is part of every piece
of matter in our universe, and the two quarks and the electron make the atom.
Three easy pieces to everything we see.
This really is all there is to the makeup of
all of the stars, galaxies and particles everywhere in our universe. It is that
straight forward, quarks and electrons represent all there is to putting the
matter in our universe together, and there is nothing more than that. I do have
to say that there are a lot of “issues and questions” associated with respect
to how the quarks build the Proton and Neutron, but they do and that is the
bottom line for now. And, not to worry as there will be a lot more forthcoming
discussion on the Standard Model.
Before moving forward I have to tell you about
a very important concept in physics, symmetry. Symmetry is all about making
sure that things look the same no matter where they may be or where they may be
moved to or how they may be moved. Violations of symmetry are a big deal that
need special circumstances and conditions in order to cover for them in
physics. If solutions for symmetry violations cannot be found, then there is a
major problem.
Keeping symmetry in mind, it turns out that
there is a second generation or family of elementary particles, these particles
are;
- Muon
- Muon
Neutrino
- Two Quarks,
the Charm Quark (c) and the Strange Quark (s).
Notice the
comparison symmetry of the second generation with respect to the first.
But, for clarity,
The Muon is exactly the same as the Electron
except that the Muon is bigger.
The Muon Neutrino is the same as the Electron
Neutrino size differences if any are still up for debate
The Charm Quark is the same as the Up Quark,
except the Charm Quark is bigger and the Strange Quark is the same as the Down
Quark, except the Strange Quark is bigger.
And next, there is a third generation or
family of elementary particles, these particles are;
- Tau
- Tau Neutrino
- Two Quarks,
the Top quark (t) and the Bottom quark (b)
For clarity once again,
The Tau is the same as the Muon and Electron,
only it is bigger than they are
The Tau Neutrino is the same as the Muon
Neutrino and Electron Neutrino, and again, size differences if any between these three neutrinos has not been established
The Top Quark is the same as the Charm and Up
Quarks only it is bigger than they are, and the Bottom Quark is the same as the
Strange Quark and the Down Quark, only it is bigger than they are.
Nice clean natural symmetry between the three
generations except for the increase in weight moving from the first to second
generation and then the second to third generation. The change in mass between
the generations means the third generation of particles is much, much larger
than the first generation.
So, since the first generation of particles
gives us the Proton and Neutron, where are the second and third generation of
Protons and Neutrons? Well, they do not exist in our world. It turns out that
the second and third generations of the Standard Model that I covered above do
not naturally exist in our world as they are too heavy. They really only show
up in high energy experiments. It turns out that there are a whole lot of
particles that are found in high energy experiments that simply do not exist in
our world.
Notice how I stated “do not exist in our
world” and did not say anything about existence in our universe. I did this
because I believe that when we look at the standard model with respect to
symmetry, it is telling us that second and third generations of Protons and
Neutrons must exist. Since we do not see
them they must exist in a part of our universe where we have not looked. For
example, an infinite 4th dimension above our three dimensions. In other words,
our own discoveries are telling us that we are not seeing all there is to see
in our universe.
Here is the question that has to be asked, why would nature make up two whole
generations of particles without there being some purpose to the particles?
In fact, it is not possible to say that there are not a fourth, fifth and
beyond generation of particles that are simply too heavy to ever exist in our
world.
There really is so much more to our universe,
we just have to start asking questions rather than accepting the status quo.
