nPosted on November 10, 2019
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nYou can’t see atoms, but their existence explains SO MUCH, so you accept that they really exist.
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nYou can’t see the parts of an atom – the protons, neutrons, and electrons – but their existence explains SO SO MUCH, so you accept that they really exist.
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nYou can’t see the parts of protons and neutrons – quarks – but their existence explains SO SO SO MUCH, you really should accept that they truly do exist!
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Two up quarks and one down quark make a proton, and two down quarks and one up quark make a neutron. But there are all these other quarks, too – which were first predicted because they make sense mathematically, and which were only later discovered using particle accelerators.
Two up quarks and one down quark make a proton, and two down quarks and one up quark make a neutron. But there are all these other quarks, too – which were first predicted because they make sense mathematically, and which were only later discovered using particle accelerators.n
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Making teensy-weensy particles go REALLY fast (like 99.997% of the speed of light) and then smashing them together helps us understand the universe more because – even though temperatures, speeds, and energies like the ones inside particle accelerators are way unfamiliar to us average humans – they are definitely known in the universe.
Making teensy-weensy particles go REALLY fast (like 99.997% of the speed of light) and then smashing them together helps us understand the universe more because – even though temperatures, speeds, and energies like the ones inside particle accelerators are way unfamiliar to us average humans – they are definitely known in the universe. n
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nStars exploding, the Big Bang, quasars, and cosmic rays are all examples that match or beat the extreme conditions in our accelerators.
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nToday is Charmed Quark Day because two different research groups discovered evidence of its existence, around this date in 1976. As I mentioned before, this quark had already been suggested by theory.
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nCharm or charmed quark is sort of a buddy to strange quark – I love these names so much! – just as up and down are buddies, and top and bottom are buddies. Quarks and leptons (like electrons) make up matter; bosons (like the gluons that “glue” together quarks and the photons that make up light and X-rays and radio waves) are called “force carriers.”
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nAnd if you understood all of that – good! Now take an advanced class in particle physics and explain it to me!
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nTo celebrate the day, consider getting some Charm Quakr merch! Like this shower curtain, or a T-shirt, mug, or …?
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| Oh, boy – now I’ve seen everything. This is a quark charm bracelet! |
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nAlso on this date:
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World Science Day for Peace and Development
World Science Day for Peace and Developmentn
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nMaputo City Day
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nRebenlichter in Switzerland
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nU.S.Marine Corps’s birthday
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nSesame Street’s birthday
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nBiologist Francis Maitland Balfour’s birthday
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nArea Code Day
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nWindows Day
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nFirst Cry of Independence in Panama
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nAnniversary of a the Hope Diamond gifted to the Smithsonian
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nPlan ahead:
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nCheck out my Pinterest boards for:
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nNovember holidays
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nNovember birthdays
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nHistorical anniversaries in November
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nAnd here are my Pinterest boards for:
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nDecember birthdays
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nHistorical anniversaries in December
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