For a long time, it was believed that protons and neutrons are [[Elementary Particles|elementary particles]], i.e. that they do not have any substructure. However, in the 1960s people started to discover that protons and neutrons were actually formed by other, lighter particles. These lighter particles are called *quarks*. They come in three families and have rather funny names (which are mostly historically motivated): 1. *up* and *down* quark 2. *charm* and *strange* quark 3. *top* and *bottom* quark All quarks and their interactions are described in the [[Standard Model of Particle Physics]], our current best description of physics at the fundamental level. ![[quarks.excalidraw.light.svg]] >[!read]- Further Reading >- [[Proton]] >- [[Neutron]] >- [[Standard Model of Particle Physics]] >- [[Fundamental Forces]] >[!ref]- References