: any of several elementary particles that are postulated to come in pairs (as in the up and down varieties) of similar mass with one member having a charge of +²/₃ and the other a charge of −¹/₃ and are held to make up hadrons
Examples of quark in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Since charge is the product of the quarks, this suggests that these particles regularly circulate out beyond the area frequented by the gluons that are busy holding the whole proton together.
—
Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 3 Apr. 2023
But protons are made from the lightest members of the quark family.
—Quanta Magazine, 14 Mar. 2024
Even if this problem is resolved, the tiny effects of interactions with quark fields and the strong force will be important.
—Luke Caldwell, Scientific American, 16 Jan. 2024
Researchers might be able to confirm this possibility by making complementary measurements of EDMs in other particles built from quarks where the coupling is likely to be different.
—Luke Caldwell, Scientific American, 16 Jan. 2024
Their efforts have led to the Standard Model of particle physics, which describes the most fundamental ingredients of matter (leptons and quarks) and the forces that control them (the electromagnetic, strong and weak forces).
—Daniel Garisto, Scientific American, 13 Dec. 2023
Understand quarks, the thinking goes, and everything else follows.
—Adam Frank, Discover Magazine, 12 July 2023
Because protons are messy bags of smaller particles known as quarks and gluons, smashing them together releases only a fraction of the proton’s total energy.
—Katrina Miller, New York Times, 7 Dec. 2023
Instead, it was first used to explain how protons and neutrons are made of elementary particles called quarks and gluons.
—WIRED, 10 Aug. 2023
Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 3 Apr. 2023
But protons are made from the lightest members of the quark family.
—Quanta Magazine, 14 Mar. 2024
Even if this problem is resolved, the tiny effects of interactions with quark fields and the strong force will be important.
—Luke Caldwell, Scientific American, 16 Jan. 2024
Researchers might be able to confirm this possibility by making complementary measurements of EDMs in other particles built from quarks where the coupling is likely to be different.
—Luke Caldwell, Scientific American, 16 Jan. 2024
Their efforts have led to the Standard Model of particle physics, which describes the most fundamental ingredients of matter (leptons and quarks) and the forces that control them (the electromagnetic, strong and weak forces).
—Daniel Garisto, Scientific American, 13 Dec. 2023
Understand quarks, the thinking goes, and everything else follows.
—Adam Frank, Discover Magazine, 12 July 2023
Because protons are messy bags of smaller particles known as quarks and gluons, smashing them together releases only a fraction of the proton’s total energy.
—Katrina Miller, New York Times, 7 Dec. 2023
Instead, it was first used to explain how protons and neutrons are made of elementary particles called quarks and gluons.
—WIRED, 10 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'quark.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Quark.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quark. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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