the smallest particle

[BooneRebel]

Originally posted by: Dead Parrot Sketch
An infinite number of universes might exist inside each quark.

Our understanding is limited in part by the capability of our technology. Germs were hard to understand until after the microscope. At one time a grain of sand was thought to be small. Then atoms were discovered. Then sub-atomic particles, eventually down to quarks. But I'd imagine that 200 years from now, scientists will look back and shake their heads at the ignorance of today and our belief that the quark is the smallest particle. Savvy?

 

[Novgrod]

i'm not quite sure what makes one particle smaller than another, but i'd think that the photon or the electron or (my favorite) neutrinos would win.

silverpig: neutrinos, as of 2000, fluctuate between something like tau, muon, and electron states. the easiest way to think of this (and i'm really pissed because i wrote a paper on it and now can't find the paper) is as such: you have three pendulums (pendula?) and they're all connected via rubber bands. You start the one a-swingin' and before long the second one is swinging and then the third one, and if you get it just right you can transfer all the energy from one to the other to the other so the first one is at nearly a dead stop. As was explained to me, that's how to think of the various 'types' of neutrinos.

interesting sidenote: the guy who taught me this is looking for supersymmetry. For every particle there's an antiparticle, and he thinks that for every force particle there's a gravity particle (i think; it was a while ago) and for every gravity particle a force particle. For instance, some day somebody's gonna find a photino.

I'll ask somebody who knows more than i about this, and try to reply with a real answer.

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: Darien

Originally posted by: silverpig
Heh, lots of posts for me in this thread I guess

According to (super)string theory, all particles are just vibrations of an 11(7?) dimensional string. These strings are on the order of the Planck length IIRC, so they'd have to be your smallest "thing" I guess (I reserve the word particle for certain vibrations of these strings which produce what we know as particles).

IIRC, strings are 2 dimensional. With the multiple spacial dimensions, we can thank the calabi-yau object for this one. The geometry (of certain types) of calabi-yau objects put everything together nicely...



Someone else also mentioned quarks and gluons...so less typing for me

Oops. Yep, I messed that up. The strings are 1 dimensional, but can vibrate in 11(or 7) dimensions.

 

[HokieESM]

Originally posted by: Darien

Originally posted by: Evadman
How many people in OT do you think took anything beyond HS PHY? They dont come to OT to converse in PHY

There are a few engineering people around here, so they get introduced to a few more advanced topics than HS physics. They'll NEVER realize the insanity beyond that though...

Yeah.... I'm working on my PhD in engineering mechanics... i made the mistake of taking a graduate level quantam mechanics class. Bad news. Well, it really wasn't all that HARD mathematically... but definitely counter-intuitive.

On a side note.... don't you think its REALLY amazing how we are searching for particles smaller than an electron/proton/neutron... yet we really don't understand materials at the continuum level (say a block of steel)? I'm doing research into the development of plasticity in metals at high strain-rates.... and VERY VERY little is known. For some reason, that strikes me as funny.

 

[Evadman]

Originally posted by: guyver01
It's a great big universe
And we're all really puny
We're just tiny little specks
About the size of Mickey Rooney.
It's big and black and inky
And we are small and dinky
It's a big universe and we're not.

Animaniacs. Nice.

Someone else also mentioned quarks and gluons...so less typing for me

ya, but I can't spell. Gluons are basicly the "carrier particle" for the strong force.