Your Particle Physics Guide: Part 2

The Standard Model is the theory that describes the interaction of forces affecting subparticles, like electrons and quarks. Although this physics deals with the major forces that govern our universe, it often seems disconnected from us--like it belongs to another reality. In truth, it does deal with matters outside out everyday experience; however, that does not make it any less important. Ultimately, understanding the Standard Model is a necessary part of understanding our universe; it is the best thing that we have at our disposal when trying to make experimental predictions.

So let"s take a moment to get to know the Standard Model, and the universe, a little better.
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/your-particle-physics-guide/

Image:
2011 Keiko Murano

A Cool Experiment: The IceCube Neutrino Observatory

Up until the turn of the 21st century, neutrino detectors were pretty much unheard of. This made the hunt for the plentiful (but elusive) subatomic particle a lot more difficult than it needed to be. However, we recently created an observatory that will revolutionize our understanding of the universe. This observatory just happens to be located in one the coldest, most inhospitable place on Earth. You see, astronomers - the clever bunch they are - have turned a cubic kilometer of Antarctic ice into the largest neutrino observatory in the world.

Want to learn how this observatory will help us find neutrinos and see photonic booms? Then check out:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/a-cool-experiment-the-icecube-neutrino-observatory/

Image source:
http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1113010258/icecube-cosmic-neutrino-discovery-astronomy-112113/

The Bizarre World of Quarks: Nucleons and a New Class of Particles

Physicists are on the verge of having to create a new classification system for exotic baryonic particles. An international team of high energy physicists claim that the discovery of an electrically charged particle called Zc(4020) has paved the way to this new, strange family of four quark objects. But before we get into that, let"s discuss particles with fewer quarks that we are a bit more familiar with.

Quarks have long been known to pair together in groups of two"s and three"s. Two quark particles are known as mesons, and three quark particles are known as baryons. You may be familiar with the latter, as baryons make up the protons and neutrons that constitute your body and everything you see. That is what I wish to talk about today, and the implications of these new four quark particles recently being discovered.

To learn about these new findings, see:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/the-bizarre-world-of-quarks-nucleons-and-a-new-class-of-particles/

Image source: http://hadron.physics.fsu.edu/~crede/quarks.html