Baryon Information

Making Baryons: Some quark combinations can actually make more than one baryon, but the game only shows one to make it simpler. You could make even more baryons if you combined these four quarks with the bottom quark, but not the top quark. The top quark lives for such a short time that it cannot combine with other quarks to form a baryon.

Matter/Antimatter: For every kind of particle there is a corresponding kind of antiparticle. This almost doubles the size of the Particle Zoo. When a particle and its antiparticle get together, they can annihilate into pure energy or into other particles. This happens at Fermilab when protons and antiprotons collide in the Tevatron. The Tevatron Collider is the only place in the world where physicists can make all the observed particles.

Proton/Antiproton Collision

Antibaryons - Even More Baryons: For every quark combination that makes a baryon, you can make an antiquark combination. For example, if you combine an antidown, antiup and antiup quark, you get an antiproton! But Nature does not combine quarks and antiquarks in baryons.

Mesons: Quarks and antiquarks combine to make a whole new set of particles called mesons. For example, up and antidown make a pion; an strange and antiup make a kaon. These quark pairs add many more particles to the Particle Zoo.

Hadrons: are particles made from quarks. Mesons and baryons are hadrons.

Close this window when you are done.