Are Quarks the smallest elementary particles possible?
In: Physics
Depends on what you mean by “smallest”.
If you mean “has the least amount of volume” then all elementary particles are treated as mathematical points: they have absolutely 0 volume. That is to say, they are all the same “size.”
If you mean “is not made of other things” then, again, all elementary particles are believed to be just that: elementary and not made of other things. We have no way of knowing if this is actually the case; we can only determine this within our ability to measure. It is not ruled out as a possibility.
So we don’t know if any of the particles we believe are elementary are actually composite, and we can never know if we’ve reached any sort of end point. And all the elementary particles are on the same footing in this regard.
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