• Question: What are electrons, protons and neutrons made of?

    Asked by helloimholly to Chris, Anna on 11 Mar 2014.
    • Photo: Anna Middleton

      Anna Middleton answered on 11 Mar 2014:

      @helloimholly even scientists forget answers to simple questions. I can’t remember my physics from school, so you’d be better off asking Chris!!

    • Photo: Chris Cole

      Chris Cole answered on 11 Mar 2014:

      Thanks Anna, but I didn’t even do physics at school! 🙂

      I did chemistry and we stopped at electrons, protons and neutrons. However, I do know that they are made up of sub-atomic particles called quarks. There are lots of different types of quarks which are identified and studied in large facilities like the Large Hadron Collider.

      With the recent discovery of the Higgs Boson the last piece in the jigsaw was found and we now have the full set of particles that make up what’s called the ‘Standard Model’. This is what I know from speaking to friends who are particle physicists.

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