Obviously we haven’t gone and studied it physically, but I’m not sure how we even know it exists. Is is all theoretical?
In: Physics
Within the standard model (our current idea about the smallest kinds of stuff that makes up the universe), there are 6 particles called quarks that make up lots of other stuff. These come in pairs. The most common ones are the up and down quarks, which make up protons and neutrons, which make up the main body of atoms, which make up basically everything we care about day to day. There are also top and bottom quarks. The final pair are called strange and charm. Stuff made from the strange quark is called strange matter.
Like with a lot of this sort of teeny-weeny particle physics, what we know is a mix of theory based on models and observations from experiments. The theory relies on lots of complicated maths. The experiments basically involve smashing tiny things together with a *lot* of energy, and seeing what even tinier things fly out. But it’s really complicated.
Like, imagine you wanted to know how a pocket watch worked, but you didn’t have a screwdriver small enough. So, you just took two pocket watches and threw them at each other until they broke. Then, you looked at the springs and cogs that fell out and tried to put them back together.
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