Lepton facts for kids

The six basic leptons: electrons, muons, tauons, electron neutrinos, mu neutrinos, and tau neutrinos, respectively

Leptons are tiny building blocks of the universe. They are a type of elementary particle, which means they are not made of even smaller particles. Leptons are different from another family of elementary particles called quarks.

One of the most famous leptons is the electron. Electrons are found in everything around us, like in atoms that make up your desk or your phone. There are six main types of leptons. Three of them have an electric charge, and three do not.

What are Leptons?

Leptons are very small particles. They are a basic part of matter. Unlike quarks, leptons are not affected by the strong nuclear force. This force holds atomic nuclei together.

Types of Leptons

There are six different kinds, or "flavors," of leptons:

• The electron (e)
• The muon (µ)
• The tau (τ)
• The electron neutrino (ν_e)
• The mu neutrino (ν_µ)
• The tau neutrino (ν_τ)

Charged Leptons

The electron, muon, and tau particles have an electric charge. They are all negatively charged. The electron is the most common and lightest of these. Muons and taus are much heavier than electrons.

Neutrinos

The other three leptons are neutrinos. They do not have an electric charge. This means they are neutral. Neutrinos are also very, very light. They interact with other matter very rarely. Billions of neutrinos pass through your body every second!

Antiparticles

Every charged lepton has an antiparticle. An antiparticle has the same mass but the opposite electric charge. For example, the antiparticle of a negatively charged electron (e^-) is a positively charged positron (e⁺).

Images for kids

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  Each generation forms a weak isospin doublet.

See also

In Spanish: Leptón para niños