quark

/kwɑrk/

/kwɔk/

Other forms: quarks

A quark is an elementary particle with an electric charge. When quarks combine, they form another type of particle called a "hadron." If you want to learn more, take up particle physics.

Quarks are held together by what physicists call "the strong force" or "the strong nuclear force." The most stable of these quark combinations, or hadrons, are protons and neutrons — the basic building blocks of atoms. In the 1960s, a physicist named Murray Gell-Mann named these particles from a favorite made-up word in James Joyce's book Finnegan's Wake: quark. Gell-Mann's partner reportedly preferred the word ace.

Definitions of quark

1. noun

   (physics) truly fundamental particle in mesons and baryons; there are supposed to be six flavors of quarks (and their antiquarks), which come in pairs; each has an electric charge of +2/3 or -1/3
   “quarks have not been observed directly but theoretical predictions based on their existence have been confirmed experimentally”

   types:

   beauty quark, bottom quark

   a quark with a charge of -1/3 and a mass about 10,000 times that of an electron

   charm quark

   a quark with an electric charge of +2/3 and a mass 2900 times that of an electron and a charm of +1

   down quark

   a stable quark with an electric charge of -1/3 and a mass 607 times that of an electron

   squark, strange quark

   a quark with an electric charge of -1/3 and a mass 988 times that of an electron and a strangeness of -1

   top quark, truth quark

   a hypothetical quark with a charge of +2/3 and a mass more than 100,000 times that of an electron

   up quark

   a stable quark with an electric charge of +2/3 and a mass 607 times that of an electron

   type of:

   elementary particle, fundamental particle

   (physics) a particle that is less complex than an atom; regarded as constituents of all matter
2. noun

   fresh unripened cheese of a smooth texture made from pasteurized milk, a starter, and rennet
   synonyms: quark cheese

   type of:

   cheese

   a solid food prepared from the pressed curd of milk