Baryons are subatomic particles that belong to the larger category of hadrons, which also includes mesons. Specifically, baryons are particles that consist of three quarks held together by the strong nuclear force. Quarks are elementary particles that are considered the building blocks of matter, and there are six different types, or flavors, of quarks: up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom. Baryons are composed of three quarks of different flavors.
A key characteristic of baryons is that they have a baryon number of +1, which means they contribute positively to the overall baryon count in the universe. Protons and neutrons are examples of baryons, which make up the nucleus of atoms. Protons, for instance, consist of two up quarks and one down quark, while neutrons consist of two down quarks and one up quark.
Baryons are affected by the strong nuclear force, one of the fundamental forces of nature. This force is made possible by the exchange of gluons, which are the carriers of the strong force. The strong nuclear force is responsible for holding the quarks within the baryons together, despite their mutual repulsion due to their electric charges.
In summary, baryons are subatomic particles composed of three quarks, representing the building blocks of matter. They possess a positive baryon number and are held together by the strong nuclear force. Protons and neutrons are the most well-known examples of baryons.
