Higgs Data Reveals Fundamental Structure of Matter

Higgs Data Reveals Fundamental Structure of Matter

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The 12 matter particles we know about are all the types there are, according to researchers analysing CERN data. Matter particles, also called fermions, are the elementary components of the universe, making up everything visible in the universe.

“For a long time, however, it was not clear whether we know all components,” says Professor Ulrich Nierste of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. The standard model of particle physics puts the number of fermions at 12 and, based on their properties, they’re divided into three generations of four particles each. Only the first generation – the electron, the electron neutrino, the up-quark and the down-quark – is found in any appreciable quantity outside of particle accelerators.