If you ask a physicist like me to explain how the world works, my lazy answer might be: “It follows the Standard Model.” The Standard Model explains the fundamental physics of how the universe works.

In 1930, a young physicist named Carl D. Anderson was tasked by his mentor with measuring the energies of cosmic rays—particles arriving at high speed from outer space. Anderson built an improved ...

The quarks, antiquarks, and gluons of the standard model have a color charge, in addition to all the other properties like mass and electric charge that other particles and antiparticles possess. All ...

It’s often said in science that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Recent measurements of the mass of the elementary particle known as the W boson provide a useful case study as to ...

In nuclear beta decay an up quark ‘u’ in a proton converts into an up down quark ‘d,’ turning the proton into a neutron and emitting a positron and a neutrino. This work affects interpretation of beta ...

If you ask a physicist like me to explain how the world works, my lazy answer might be: “It follows the Standard Model.” The Standard Model explains the fundamental physics of how the universe works.

For the past half century or so, a theory known by the understated name of the Standard Model has dominated the field of particle physics. This theory provides us with a detailed description of the 17 ...

Ten years ago, scientists announced the discovery of the Higgs boson, which helps explain why elementary particles (the smallest building blocks of nature) have mass. When you purchase through links ...

Aaron McGowan has received funding in the past from the U.S. Department of Energy. If you ask a physicist like me to explain how the world works, my lazy answer might be: “It follows the Standard ...

Your browser does not support the audio element. Ever heard of a beauty quark? How about a glueball? Physics is full of weird particles that leave many of us ...