Every particle[ref] that we have met so far has a corresponding -anti-particle. These antiparticles have exactly the same mass[ref] as -the particle, but opposite charge[ref], and their lifetime and -stability are the same. When a particle, for example the electron, -meets its antiparticle, an anti-electron (or positron), they will -annihilate each other. This means that both particles disappear and -produce a huge amount of energy[ref]. This annihilation will only +
Every particle[ref] that we have met so far has a +corresponding anti-particle. These antiparticles have exactly the same +mass[ref] as the particle, but opposite charge[ref], and their +lifetime and stability are the same. When a particle, for example the +electron, meets its antiparticle, an anti-electron (or positron), they +will annihilate each other. This means that both particles disappear +and produce a huge amount of energy[ref]. This annihilation will only occur when an antiparticle meets its matching partner. For example, an antimuon will not annihilate with an electron. However, because there is a lot more matter in our universe than antimatter, it is much more diff --git a/chapter/the_electromagnetic_interaction.html b/chapter/the_electromagnetic_interaction.html index 43e45d4..9eedcc1 100644 --- a/chapter/the_electromagnetic_interaction.html +++ b/chapter/the_electromagnetic_interaction.html @@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
The electromagnetic force is the force affecting electrically charged -particles. This is the force that keeps the electrons close to the -nucleus of an atom. How do the charged particles communicate with each -other? They exchange a certain type of particle, called the -photon. This is the same particle that makes up light! Visible light, -X-rays, microwaves and radio waves are all photons, with different -energies.
+The electromagnetic force is the force affecting +electrically charged particles. This is the force that keeps the +electrons close to the nucleus of an atom. How do the charged +particles communicate with each other? They exchange a certain type of +particle, called the photon. This is the same particle that makes up +light! Visible light, X-rays, microwaves and radio waves are all +photons, with different energies.
diff --git a/chapter/the_higgs.html b/chapter/the_higgs.html index d2e30f1..519e64f 100644 --- a/chapter/the_higgs.html +++ b/chapter/the_higgs.html @@ -1,9 +1,9 @@On July 4th 2012, the two LHC experiments ATLAS and CMS announced -the discovery of a new boson, which is likely to be the Higgs -boson. It has been the missing piece of the Standard Model for many -years, and its discovery is one of the most amazing successes of -physics. In this chapter, we will explain the Higgs mechanism, that +
On July 4th 2012, the two LHC experiments ATLAS +and CMS announced the discovery of a new boson, which is likely to be +the Higgs boson. It has been the missing piece of the Standard Model +for many years, and its discovery is one of the most amazing successes +of physics. In this chapter, we will explain the Higgs mechanism, that gives mass to all the particles we know by now.
diff --git a/chapter/the_strong_interaction.html b/chapter/the_strong_interaction.html index fa648e0..932bbfb 100644 --- a/chapter/the_strong_interaction.html +++ b/chapter/the_strong_interaction.html @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@There must be some kind of force that glues together the quarks in the +
There must be some kind of force that glues together the quarks in the proton, just like the electromagnetic force attaches the electron to the atomic nucleus. And like for electromagnetism, there must be messenger particle of this force, and also a kind of “charge”, called @@ -12,10 +12,10 @@ messenger particles of this interaction are called gluons, and they themselves carry color, so they cannot exist freely either.
-Looking at the proton, we see that there are three quarks glued -together - unlike in the hydrogen atom, where there are only two -partners: the proton and the electron. Hence, something must be -different about this strong, nuclear force, that glues together the -quarks. There are three different kinds of "charge", as opposed to +
Looking at the proton, we see that there are three +quarks glued together - unlike in the hydrogen atom, where there are +only two partners: the proton and the electron. Hence, something must +be different about this strong, nuclear force, that glues together the +quarks. There are three different kinds of "charge", as opposed to electromagnetism, where there are only two, which we call positive and negative. For the strong force, the "charge" is called color.
diff --git a/chapter/the_weak_interaction.html b/chapter/the_weak_interaction.html index 8264ef4..73c2d6b 100644 --- a/chapter/the_weak_interaction.html +++ b/chapter/the_weak_interaction.html @@ -1,8 +1,8 @@Some nuclear decays cannot be explained with only the strong and -the electromagnetic interactions, another interaction is -required. These decays are called beta decays (β-decay), and turn a +
Some nuclear decays cannot be explained with only +the strong and the electromagnetic interactions, another interaction +is required. These decays are called beta decays (β-decay), and turn a neutron into a proton (or the other way around) and emit an electron and a new particle, the neutrino [or a positron (an antielectron)]. They are rare and very different from the other types diff --git a/chapter/three_generations.html b/chapter/three_generations.html index 8650246..7929e69 100644 --- a/chapter/three_generations.html +++ b/chapter/three_generations.html @@ -1,19 +1,20 @@
So far we have met the particles that make up most +of the matter we see all around us - the up quark, the down quark and +the electron. We have also met the electron neutrino, which is emitted +during radioactive decay. It seems like these four particles, along +with the particles that carry forces, are enough to explain +everything.
- -It turns out that each of the matter particles has two "big -brothers" – new particles that are identical except for their larger -mass. Physicists talk about "three generations" (sometimes called -families instead) of matter. The first generation is the particles we -have met already. The second generation contains the charm quark (the -big brother of the up quark), the strange quark (the big brother of -the down quark), the muon (the big brother of the electron) and the -muon neutrino (the big brother of the electron neutrino). The third -generation is the top quark, the bottom quark (this is sometimes also -called the beauty quark), the tau lepton and the tau neutrino.
+It turns out that each of the matter particles has +two "big brothers" - new particles that are identical except for their +larger mass. Physicists talk about "three generations" (sometimes +called families instead) of matter. The first generation is the +particles we have met already. The second generation contains the +charm quark (the big brother of the up quark), the strange quark (the +big brother of the down quark), the muon (the big brother of the +electron) and the muon neutrino (the big brother of the electron +neutrino). The third generation is the top quark, the bottom quark +(this is sometimes also called the beauty quark), the tau lepton and +the tau neutrino.
diff --git a/chapter/what_is_the_world_made_of.html b/chapter/what_is_the_world_made_of.html index e10b8fb..17994ed 100644 --- a/chapter/what_is_the_world_made_of.html +++ b/chapter/what_is_the_world_made_of.html @@ -1,12 +1,13 @@The world around us, everything we see, touch, smell and taste, is -made of matter. Everything from the device you are reading this -webpage on and the ground that you are standing on to your body and -the air you breathe - all consist of matter. But what is "matter"? -People have been puzzling over this question for generations. In the -early 20th century, it was believed that the smallest unit of matter -was the atom (from greek atomos, meaning indivisible). It was known -that atoms of different types have different properties and cannot be -transformed into one another. However, today we know what atoms are -made up of and why the different atoms have different properties.
+The world around us, everything we see, touch, +smell and taste, is made of matter. Everything from the device you are +reading this webpage on and the ground that you are standing on to +your body and the air you breathe - all consist of matter. But what is +"matter"? People have been puzzling over this question for +generations. In the early 20th century, it was believed that the +smallest unit of matter was the atom (from greek atomos, meaning +indivisible). It was known that atoms of different types have +different properties and cannot be transformed into one +another. However, today we know what atoms are made up of and why the +different atoms have different properties.
diff --git a/readmore/the_electromagnetic_interaction.html b/readmore/the_electromagnetic_interaction.html index 8c06080..0116ba7 100644 --- a/readmore/the_electromagnetic_interaction.html +++ b/readmore/the_electromagnetic_interaction.html @@ -2,11 +2,13 @@ that it is made of a proton with electric charge +1 and an electron with charge -1. Particles with opposite electric charge attract each other just like magnets. This is an example of the electromagnetic -force, or “the electromagnetic interaction”. What is interaction? +force, or "the electromagnetic interaction". + +How do the proton and the electron know about each other? How do -they “interact”, and what do we mean by “interaction”? Particles +they "interact", and what do we mean by “interaction”? Particles interact with each other by exchanging other particles. How does this work?
@@ -23,7 +25,7 @@ receive the tools momentum, carrying him in the direction of flight. What happened? The two astronauts are now floating away from each other, whereas they were approaching each other before. They exchanged a tool, and transmitted momentum from one another, a process -particle physicists call “scattering”. Sadly, this example only works +particle physicists call "scattering". Sadly, this example only works for a repelling interaction. However, there is a similar example, that also works for an attractive interaction, which is a little more complicated. @@ -101,10 +103,10 @@ called fermions (all particles with half-integer spin are fermions). -Like all other bosons, photons can - given that sufficient energy is +Like all other bosons, photons can - given that sufficient energy is available - be produced out of nowhere and can also vanish into nothingness, leaving behind nothing but energy. Therefore, the -electrons and protons in the atoms - as oppo
sed to the persons in +electrons and protons in the atoms - as opposed to the persons in the boats we used as an analogy earlier - do not need to carry around their messengers (in our case photons), as they can simply be produced by all particles that carry charge.
@@ -112,7 +114,7 @@ by all particles that carry charge.The exchange of photons between particles is what we call -“electromagnetic interaction”, The photon can create either attraction +"electromagnetic interaction", The photon can create either attraction or repulsion between particles and transport momentum as well as energy. Now we know what binds together the electron and the nucleus to form atoms, such as the Hydrogen atom or the Helium atom that we