The number of protons in the nucleus of the atom is equal to the atomic number (Z). The number of neutrons is equal to the difference between the mass number of the atom (M) and the atomic number (Z).

If you add or subtract a proton from the nucleus, you create a new element. If you add or subtract a neutron from the nucleus, you create a new isotope of the same element you started with. In a neutral atom, the number of positively charged protons in the nucleus is equal to the number of orbiting electrons.

atoms

But the atom is not the smallest unit of matter. Experiments found that each atom has a tiny, dense nucleus, surrounded by a cloud of even tinier electrons. The electron is, as far as we know, one of the fundamental, indivisible building blocks of the universe. It was the first Standard Model particle ever discovered.

Today, we know that atoms do not represent the smallest unit of matter. Particles called quarks and leptons seem to be the fundamental building blocks – but perhaps there is something even smaller. Physicists are still far from understanding why a proton has about 2,000 times more mass than an electron.

LONDON: Until 2012, nobody was certain it existed till the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) announced they had found the God Particle. “Nobody has seen them yet; particles that are smaller than the Higgs particle.

The Twelve Fundamental Particles

A quark (/kwɔːrk, kwɑːrk/) is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. Up and down quarks have the lowest masses of all quarks.

While the size of protons and neutrons is of the order of a Fermi (10−15 m), the size of quarks is ~10−18 m. It is deemed that quarks are composed of smaller particles – preons.

Originally Answered: Is there anything smaller than a Planck length? There is no even theoretically possible measuring device that can measure differences between two locations that are closer together than a Planck length. Thus, the Planck length is the smallest possible unit of measurement.

Particle Adventure – Quarks. Quarks are one type of matter particle. Most of the matter we see around us is made from protons and neutrons, which are composed of quarks.

The more specific and hypothetical context is that quark matter might in fact be the true ground state of all matter, and thus more stable than ordinary nuclear matter.

Quark is a traditional, creamy, unripened cheese tracing its origin to German-speaking and eastern European countries. Quark is said to be a cross between yogurt and cottage cheese. This fresh, soft, white cheese is prepared from pasteurised cow’s milk with a small amount of acid added to achieve a good, firm curd.