Pick your particle

Up quark A bubbly little building block; with down quarks, it helps make the heart of ordinary matter. Down quark A steady building block that teams with up quarks to make protons and neutrons. Charm quark A twinkly heavier quark, useful for exploring how the strong force behaves. Strange quark A swirly oddball quark that helps reveal the playful rules of particle decays. Top quark A high-energy heavyweight quark, the most massive known particle and gone in a flash. Bottom quark A deep, heavy quark, rare in everyday matter but precious for studying how particles change.

Electron A bright little spark that gives atoms their outer buzz and powers tiny electric currents. Electron neutrino A shy wisp that slips through almost everything, carrying the electron family's quiet clues. Muon A heavier cousin of the electron, short-lived but brilliant in cosmic-ray showers. Muon neutrino A ghostly cousin of the muon, zipping through space while barely leaving a trace. Tau A heavy cousin of the electron with a dramatic trail, brief but important for particle-family patterns. Tau neutrino A shadowy neutrino linked to the tau, slipping through matter almost unnoticed.

Photon A lightning-like messenger of light, carrying electromagnetic energy from place to place. Gluon A lively glue-spark that helps quarks stick together inside protons and neutrons. W- A crackly W boson that helps particles change identity in weak-force transformations. W+ The plus-charged W boson partner, helping drive weak-force changes such as radioactive decay. Z A neat Z boson that carries the weak force without electric charge.

Higgs A sturdy little heavyweight whose field helps many particles behave as if they have mass.