The quark model is a concept in particle physics that explains the behavior of subatomic particles. The spelling of quark is pronounced as /kwɑːrk/ in IPA phonetic transcription. The 'q' is followed by a 'u', but the 'u' is not pronounced. The 'a' after 'q' is pronounced as 'or' sound. The 'r' is pronounced with a slight rolling of the tongue. The last 'k' is not silent, making the word sound like "kwark" in everyday speech. The spelling of the word 'quark' may seem unusual, but it accurately represents its pronunciation.
The quark model is a theoretical framework in particle physics that describes the behavior and properties of elementary particles. It was developed in the 1960s by Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig as a way to understand and classify the wide variety of subatomic particles that had been discovered.
In the quark model, elementary particles such as protons and neutrons are composed of smaller constituents called quarks. Quarks are fundamental particles that possess a series of unique attributes, such as electric charge, mass, and color charge. Quarks come in six different types or flavors: up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom, each with its own distinct properties.
According to the quark model, protons and neutrons are each composed of three quarks, specifically two up quarks and one down quark for protons, and two down quarks and one up quark for neutrons. These three-quark combinations are known as baryons. Mesons, on the other hand, are composed of a quark and an antiquark, features that cancel each other's color charge.
The quark model provides a consistent and comprehensive framework for understanding the interactions and behavior of subatomic particles. It has been successful in predicting the existence and properties of numerous particles, leading to the discovery of new particles through experiments. The model revolutionized the field of particle physics and has served as the foundation for further theoretical developments and experiments in the field.
The word "quark model" originates from the field of particle physics. It was proposed by physicist Murray Gell-Mann in 1964 to describe the structure of elementary particles called hadrons. Initially, Gell-Mann named these particles as "quarks", which he took from the following line in James Joyce's novel Finnegans Wake:
"Three quarks for Muster Mark"!
The word "quark" in Joyce's novel is considered nonsensical, but Gell-Mann found it appropriate to use as a term to describe the elementary particles he discovered. The term "quark model" was then coined to represent Gell-Mann's theory and the mathematical framework he developed to understand the behavior of these particles.