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Quark

Quarks are one of the two basic constituents of matter in the Standard Model of particle physics. (The others are leptons.) Antiparticles of quarks are called antiquarks. Quarks and antiquarks are the only fundamental particles that interact through all four of the fundamental forces. An important property of quarks is called confinement, which states that individual quarks are not seen because they are always confined inside subatomic particles called hadrons (e.g., protons and neutrons); an exception is the top quark, which decays so quickly that it does not hadronize, and can therefore be observed more directly via its decay products. Confinement began as an experimental observation, and is expected to follow from the modern theory of strong interactions, called quantum chromodynamics.

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Matter & Energy News

September 22, 2026

Stanford researchers have recorded the first real-time quantum jumps of sound, watching single phonons abruptly vanish from one energy state to another. The breakthrough could open new paths for quantum computing, error correction, highly sensitive ...
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a surprisingly simple way to turn polyethylene, the common plastic used in shopping bags and cutting boards, into gasoline and diesel-like fuels. The process uses inexpensive aluminum-based ...
Scientists have developed ultra-bright nanoparticles that can detect tiny amounts of chemicals and distinguish between molecules that look almost identical. The technology could one day provide a cheaper way to catch dangerous drug impurities or ...
A deep-sea microbe uses an exceptionally heat-resistant enzyme to turn atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia at temperatures that would destroy most proteins. Its unusual structure and a newly observed reaction state may reveal an ancient, shared ...
Complex systems may work better when their parts are not perfectly alike. Northwestern physicists found that carefully balanced variation, or “disorder,” can make networks such as power grids, ecosystems, neurons, and materials more stable. Even ...
Scientists are looking to diatoms, sea sponges, and plants for a cleaner way to recover rare earth elements and other valuable minerals hidden inside coal ash, red mud, and mine tailings. The bio-inspired approach could turn massive industrial waste ...
A new Caltech device can redirect a beam of light in just 74 femtoseconds using another beam and a nanoscale silicon metasurface. The breakthrough could pave the way for dramatically faster photonic communications, computing, and sensing ...
A pocket-sized, roughly $100 detector can reveal the invisible stream of cosmic particles constantly passing through Earth and even through our bodies. What began as a student physics project is now being used in major experiments, balloon missions, ...
Scientists have developed a solar-powered desalination system that turns seawater into fresh water while removing nearly all of the leftover salt as a solid instead of producing harmful brine. The self-cleaning technology could also recover valuable ...
A mathematical shape famous for covering a surface without ever repeating has revealed an unexpected ability to twist light into unusual chiral patterns. The discovery could lead to new ways of controlling light, polarization, and advanced optical ...
Scientists are combining an electron microscope with a quantum computer to squeeze far more information from each electron. The approach could reveal faint details with fewer electrons, helping protect fragile samples that conventional microscopy ...
Researchers have experimentally demonstrated the optical Magnus effect for the first time, revealing that a tightly focused laser interacts most strongly with an atom slightly away from the beam’s center. The unexpected shift is similar to the ...

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