The "Standard Model" of Physics

Reference Diagram

The 'Standard Model' is the most comprehensive theory in physics that describes the fundamental particles and forces that make up our universe.
Essentially, the 'Standard Model' is the current best scientific explanation for what atoms / everything is made of and how it all holds together (or falls apart!).
It identifies the elementary particles that are the building blocks of matter and explains how they interact through three of the four fundamental forces: the strong force, the weak force, and the electromagnetic force.
Gravity is notably absent from the Standard Model.

The 'Standard Model' is comprised of several key components:
Photons are the bosons responsible for the electromagnetic force, mediating interactions between electrically charged particles like electrons and quarks.
Gluons mediate the strong nuclear force, binding quarks together within protons and neutrons, and holding atomic nuclei together.
W and Z bosons are responsible for the weak nuclear force, which governs radioactive decay and fusion processes in stars, allowing quarks and leptons to change from one type to another.
In summary, quarks and leptons are the fundamental building blocks of matter, while bosons (including the Higgs boson) are responsible for mediating the forces that govern how these building blocks interact and acquire mass, shaping the very structure of the cosmos.

u - up

Up (u) Quark

A light, fundamental particle that carries a +2/3 electric charge. Along with the down quark, it forms protons (two up, one down) and neutrons (one up, two down), making it a fundamental constituent of atomic nuclei.
c - charm

Charm (c) Quark

A heavier version of the up quark, also with a +2/3 electric charge. It's found in exotic, short-lived particles called charmed hadrons, decaying into lighter quarks via the weak force.
t - top

Top (t) Quark

The most massive of all known elementary particles, carrying a +2/3 electric charge. It is incredibly unstable and decays almost instantly into other quarks and leptons via the weak force, making it a crucial particle for studying electroweak interactions.
d - down

Down (d) Quark

Another light, fundamental particle, carrying a -1/3 electric charge. It combines with up quarks to form protons and neutrons, and its strong interactions with up quarks (mediated by gluons) are responsible for the stability of matter.
s - strange

Strange (s) Quark

A heavier version of the down quark, with a -1/3 electric charge. Like the charm quark, it forms strange hadrons, and its presence revealed the concept of "strangeness" in particle physics due to its unexpected decay properties.
b - bottom

Bottom (b) Quark

The second-most massive quark, with a -1/3 electric charge. It's a key component of "bottom" or "beauty" hadrons, and its decays are vital for investigating CP violation, a phenomenon related to matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe.
γ - photon

Photon (γ)

The quantum of light and the force-carrying particle for the electromagnetic force. It mediates interactions between all charged particles, responsible for electricity, magnetism, and light itself, effectively binding electrons to nuclei and atoms into molecules.
g - gluon

Gluon (g)

The force-carrying particle for the strong nuclear force. Gluons bind quarks together to form protons and neutrons, and they also bind protons and neutrons within atomic nuclei, making them essential for the stability of all ordinary matter. Unlike photons, gluons can also interact with each other.
Higgs Boson

Higgs Boson (H)

The particle associated with the Higgs field, which gives mass to elementary particles. As fundamental particles like quarks and W/Z bosons move through the omnipresent Higgs field, they interact with it, and this interaction is perceived as mass, thereby differentiating massless photons and gluons from the massive particles of matter and other force carriers.
W - w boson

W Boson

One of the force-carrying particles for the weak nuclear force, carrying either a +1 or -1 electric charge. W bosons are responsible for processes where a particle changes its "flavor," such as in radioactive beta decay where a neutron turns into a proton, emitting an electron and an antineutrino.
Z - z boson

Z Boson

The other force-carrying particle for the weak nuclear force, carrying no electric charge. Z bosons mediate neutral current weak interactions, where particles scatter off each other without changing their flavor or charge, for example, when a neutrino scatters off an electron.
τ - tau

Tau (τ)

The heaviest and most unstable charged lepton, also with a -1 electric charge. It decays very quickly into lighter leptons and neutrinos (or hadrons) through the weak force, representing the third and heaviest generation of charged leptons.
μ - muon

Muon (μ)

A heavier, unstable "cousin" of the electron, also with a -1 electric charge. It decays into electrons and neutrinos via the weak force, and its existence was a major puzzle when first discovered, hinting at the concept of particle generations.
e - electron

Electron (e)

A light, stable fundamental particle with a -1 electric charge, orbiting atomic nuclei and responsible for chemical bonds and electrical currents. It interacts with photons via the electromagnetic force and participates in weak interactions.
ντ - tau neutrino

Tau Neutrino (ντ)

A very light, neutral fundamental particle associated with the tau. It's the least-studied of the neutrinos due to the tau's short lifespan, but its existence is crucial for the completeness of the Standard Model.
νμ - muon neutrino

Muon Neutrino (νμ)

A very light, neutral fundamental particle associated with the muon. Like all neutrinos, it interacts incredibly rarely and is key to understanding processes involving muons and weak decays.
νe - electron neutrino

Electron Neutrino (νe)

A very light, neutral fundamental particle that almost never interacts with matter, only experiencing the weak force. It's produced in nuclear reactions like those in the sun and beta decay, always associated with the electron.
Legend
Quarks

Quarks:

Are fundamental particles that combine to form composite particles called hadrons, such as protons and neutrons. There are six "flavors" of quarks (up, down, charm, strange, top, bottom), each with different masses and electric charges, and they interact strongly through the exchange of gluons.
Bosons

Bosons:

Are force-carrying particles that mediate the fundamental interactions between other particles.

Higgs Boson:

This is a fundamental particle associated with the Higgs field, which permeates the universe. The Higgs field is theorized to give other fundamental particles, such as quarks and W/Z bosons, their mass as they interact with it. Without the Higgs boson and its field, many particles would be massless, and the universe as we know it would not exist.
Leptons

Leptons:

Are a class of fundamental particles that do not experience the strong nuclear force. The most well-known lepton is the electron, which orbits the nucleus of an atom. Other leptons include muons, taus, and their corresponding neutrinos, which are very light and interact only via the weak force and gravity.