# The 17 elementary particles of the Standard Model

Six quarks, six leptons, four force-carrying bosons and the Higgs boson, discovered at CERN in 2012: the fundamental building blocks of everything that exists, from the 1897 electron to the Higgs boson. Which is your favourite?

- 0 votes · 17 items
- Mar 26, 2024 · Francesco Rizzi
- https://even.best/en/l/3925/the-17-elementary-particles-of-the-standard-model

## Top 17

1. **Electron (1897)** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The first to be discovered, by J. J. Thomson.
2. **Photon** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The quantum of light, carrier of the electromagnetic force.
3. **Muon (1936)** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — A "heavy electron" found in cosmic rays.
4. **Electron neutrino (1956)** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — First detected near a nuclear reactor.
5. **Muon neutrino (1962)** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Its discovery won Lederman, Schwartz and Steinberger the Nobel Prize.
6. **Up quark** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — With the down quark it makes up protons and neutrons.
7. **Down quark** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Two downs and an up make a neutron.
8. **Strange quark** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — It gives its name to "strange" particles.
9. **Charm quark (1974)** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Physics' "November Revolution".
10. **Tau (1975)** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The heaviest charged lepton.
11. **Bottom quark (1977)** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Discovered at Fermilab.
12. **Gluon (1979)** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — It holds quarks together: the strong nuclear force.
13. **W boson (1983)** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Carrier of the weak force, discovered at CERN.
14. **Z boson (1983)** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Also discovered at CERN.
15. **Top quark (1995)** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The heaviest elementary particle, found at Fermilab.
16. **Tau neutrino (2000)** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The last fermion to be observed.
17. **Higgs boson (2012)** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Announced at CERN on 4 July 2012: it gives particles their mass.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.