Sanela Colakovic
Ms. Brandsma
B block
Sept 13, 2018
Is there really a smallest particle?
So, is there really a smallest particle? Do we know what it is? Well this is what I have found out,I will start from the beginning and work my way to the smallest known particle.
An atom, The word atom comes from a Greek word that translates to “cannot be divided”. Atoms consist of subatomic particles called protons neutrons and electrons, protons carry a positive charge electron carry a negative charge and neutrons carry no charge. Therefor usually in an atom the number of protons and electrons are equal. The atomic mass of an atom is almost equal the amount of protons plus the number of electrons since the mass of electrons is practically negatable.
Okay so protons and neutrons, the nucleus of an atom is a number that’s fixed of protons and neutrons and is either unstable or stable, depending on several factors. Most stable atoms have equal number of protons and neutrons and don’t have a big number of protons and neutrons together. Let me talk about protons first, the word proton comes from a Greek word of the same spelling meaning “first”. A proton is a subatomic particle with a mass of 1.6726219 × 10-27 kilogramsfound inside the nucleus of every atom with an electrical charge that is positive equal to that of an electron. The number of protons inside an atom defines the atom itself, for example any atom that has one proton is an atom of hydrogen, or if the atom has 2 protons it is an atom of helium, any atom with three protons of lithium and it goes on. The amount of protons in an atom defines the atomic number of the atom.
A neutron is also a subatomic particle with 1.6749×10-27 kilogram slightly more than a proton and has no electric charge. Typically, an atom has the same number of protons and neutrons but sometimes there are fewer neutrons or more neutrons.
Next is a neutrino, A neutrino is similar to an electron except it has no charge to it, The mass to a neutrino is so small it could even be zero. Neutrinos are some of the most abundant particles in the universe because they have barely any interaction with matter. And they are very hard to detect.
After that would be a lepton and hadron. A lepton is a group of six elementary particles and six antiparticle counterparts that do not interact with the strong force. But they do interact with the weak force and gravitational force, and electromagnetic force. Hadrons are subatomic particles that affect the strong force that forces the nucleus together, they are found in atomic nucleus. Hadrons are made of basic particles such as quarks and gluons held together by the strong force
Finally comes a quark the smallest particle I was able to find. A quark can weigh up to 2 mega electron volts (MeV). Quarks are some of the fundamental particles that can make matter. Theoretical physics suppose that quarks come in pairs, each pair has a different fractional charge (Q) which is either +2/3 or -1/3. Quarks that have a charge which is positive fractional are called “up type” quarks, but those with a negative fractional charg are called “down type” quarks.
“Quarks.” World of Scientific Discovery, Gale a cengage company, 2007. Science In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CV1648500498/SCIC?u=43riss&sid=SCIC&xid=b1513ada. Accessed 17 Sept. 2018.
“Radioactive decay.” The Gale Encyclopedia of Science, edited by K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, 5th ed., Gale, 2014. Science In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CV2644031860/SCIC?u=43riss&sid=SCIC&xid=ba79e8f6. Accessed 17 Sept. 2018.
“Neutron.” UXL Encyclopedia of Science, edited by Amy Hackney Blackwell and Elizabeth Manar, 3rd ed., UXL, 2015. Science In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CV2644300685/SCIC?u=43riss&sid=SCIC&xid=0588428e. Accessed 17 Sept. 2018.
Self evaluation
- I had to research questions like “what is an atom” or “how much does a proton weigh” and such as because I couldn’t just explain only one particle I wanted to explain multiple and slowly work my way to the smallest.
- I used gale and engage learning for majority of my work and thats were I was able to find all of my information for my project.
- I started out just trying to find what the smallest particle known is, then slowly I found the order from biggest to smallest and wrote a list of all the particles and I chose all the kew particles which I thought were the most important. Then after I researched about each particle and found out what they really are and what they do.
- I just compared it to the other websites I used and if I saw there wasn’t much valid information then I would eliminate that one. Also I knew if the website would be good if there information is kind of the same as the others because I would know the information is right and not made up because if it would be completely different then the rest I would know its no a reliable source.
- I think that this project went very well and maybe if I added a little more information it would have been better but I think form my time period I did very well and there isn’t much I would change about this im very proud.
I did not know this, I learned something new today. Thanks for sharing this info.
Hello Sanela. I really enjoyed your wonder project. I didn’t know that a quark was the smallest thing ever known. Hope you can expand on this one day and find out what else is smaller in the future.
Your project was really cool and interesting and made me have to think a lot about life. Your topic was really mind blowing.
Thanks for your post asking the question: is there really a smallest particle? I appreciate how you have successfully asked and answered good questions and acquired and analyzed key information that reveals an understanding of particles. Excellent work citing your sources. One thought is to add a paragraph that summarizes what you think after looking at all the research. Amazing job, though!