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What are the six types of quarks called?
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subatomic particle
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's most powerful particle accelerator. At the LHC, located underground in Switzerland, physicists study subatomic particles.
In particle physics, there are six types, or "flavours," of quarks. These fundamental subatomic particles are grouped into three pairs based on their characteristics:12
- Up and down
- Charm and strange
- Top and bottom
These six varieties are necessary to account for all known hadrons, such as protons and neutrons. While the up and down quarks are the lightest and make up ordinary matter, the other four are heavier and play roles in various short-lived particles.12