Thread: Are all protons created equal?

I have a bunch of questions referring to quantum particles.

Are protons created equal? Are they 'perfectly' spherical- shaped like raisins- or golf balls?

How come protons with like charges are attracted to eachother when magnets with similar polarities are repelled?

Can electrons convey information by their location and spin?

How many fundemental particles do we actually know of? And how many more have we have on the shelf trying to prove they exist?

Are all nuclei spherical? Or are they shaped differently across a period?

Thats a good start...

Originally Posted by JFalz1024

Are protons created equal? Are they 'perfectly' spherical- shaped like raisins- or golf balls?

So far as we know, they are the same.

They're made of quarks, so I guess they're more like raspberries than raisins or golf balls, but I prefer to think of them as miniature hurricanes.

How come protons with like charges are attracted to eachother when magnets with similar polarities are repelled?

Gluons cause the strong force, which holds quarks together, 100 times stronger than electromagnetic forces. The residual of that force holds the protons (and neutrons, which are also made of quarks) together.

Can electrons convey information by their location and spin?

Yes? you mean, if we know their location and spin, so we have any information? But that seems obvious, so maybe I'm not understanding the question.

How many fundemental particles do we actually know of? And how many more have we have on the shelf trying to prove they exist?

If you believe the standard model, a couple dozen elementary particles:

Subatomic particle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Higgs boson is elusive!

Are all nuclei spherical? Or are they shaped differently across a period?

They're not really spherical at all, but approximately, for some intents and purposes.

"Gluons cause the strong force, which holds quarks together, 100 times stronger than electromagnetic forces. The residual of that force holds the protons (and neutrons, which are also made of quarks) together."


Ok so a proton is made up of quarks held together by gluons. How many quarks to a proton? Meaning, Hydrogen has (1) proton and Lithium (3). It wouldn't be (1) and (3) quarks respectively- or else they would just another name for proton right? And how do they generate the force which is 100 times stronger than the electromagnetic force?

You dont have to know the answer we can just roll it over together...

Also, whats a gluon? If a proton is made up of quarks held together by gluons...? How large are these particles in relation to the size of a proton?

The Wikipedia page Elementary particle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia has a useful diagram showing the "Standard Model" particles and an even more useful explanation for the layman, of what particles are (thought to be)

Originally Posted by JFalz1024

Ok so a proton is made up of quarks held together by gluons. How many quarks to a proton? Meaning, Hydrogen has (1) proton and Lithium (3). It wouldn't be (1) and (3) quarks respectively- or else they would just another name for proton right?

A proton is made up of two up quarks with 2/3 positive charge each, and one down quark, with 1/3 negative charge, for a total charge of 1 positive. A neutron is made up of on up quark and two down quarks, for a zero total charge.

And how do they generate the force which is 100 times stronger than the electromagnetic force?

Gluons, supposedly.

It's a relative term, at a typical nucleus distance, which is where it is important, the force is 100 times larger.

Whats the size ratio of a quark to a proton? If a proton measures "X" pm across say, is a quark exactly 1/3 of that?

And aside from spin & charge do they have any other characteristics or properties?