The Particle Zoo

Meet all 17 fundamental particles of the Standard Model in an interactive 3D gallery

Meet the Fundamental Particles

The Standard Model contains exactly 17 fundamental particles: 6 quarks, 6 leptons, 4 gauge bosons, and the Higgs boson. These are the building blocks of everything in the universe. Every atom, every star, every living thing is made from combinations of these particles interacting through the fundamental forces.

The Standard Model Gallery

Click any particle to learn about its properties. Quarks (rose) carry color charge and feel the strong force. Leptons (blue) do not. Gauge bosons (amber) carry the forces. The Higgs (emerald) gives mass to other particles.

Click a particle to inspect its properties
QuarksLeptonsGauge BosonsHiggs

Particle Properties

Each particle has a unique set of quantum numbers: mass, electric charge, spin, and various flavor quantum numbers. Select a particle to see its complete ID card.

The Mass Hierarchy

Particle masses span an astonishing range. The top quark is 340,000 times heavier than the electron, and neutrinos are lighter still. This enormous hierarchy is one of the great unsolved puzzles of particle physics.

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Decay Chains

Heavy particles are unstable — they decay into lighter ones. The top quark decays in about 10⁻²⁵ seconds, while the proton (if it decays at all) has a lifetime greater than 10³⁴ years. Watch how decay chains cascade from heavy parents to stable daughters.

Key Takeaways

  • 17 fundamental particles — 6 quarks, 6 leptons, 4 gauge bosons, 1 Higgs
  • Three generations — particles come in three families of increasing mass
  • Mass hierarchy — masses span more than 12 orders of magnitude
  • Most particles are unstable — only electrons, protons, photons, and neutrinos are stable