Theoretical particle facts for kids

Theoretical particles are special particles that scientists think might exist, but they haven't been found or proven in any experiments yet. Imagine them as missing pieces of a puzzle that physicists are trying to find!

Some of these particles, like the tachyon, probably don't exist. That's because if they did, they would break some very important rules of physics that we know about. However, many other theoretical particles are still believed to exist, and scientists are actively looking for them.

One big group of theoretical particles comes from an idea called Supersymmetry. This idea suggests that every known particle has a "superpartner" particle that we haven't discovered yet. For example, a sfermion is the superpartner of a fermion. Supersymmetric particles often have an "s" added to the beginning of their name, like "sfermion" or "squark."

It's important to know that particles found in antimatter are not theoretical particles. Scientists have already found and studied antimatter particles in many experiments.

What Are Theoretical Particles?

Theoretical particles are like ideas or predictions that come from our best scientific theories. Scientists use math and logic to figure out what other particles might be out there, even if they can't see them directly. Finding these particles would help us understand the universe much better.

For example, some theoretical particles could help explain dark matter, a mysterious substance that makes up a big part of the universe but doesn't interact with light. Other particles could help us understand how gravity works at a tiny, tiny level.

Different Kinds of Theoretical Particles

Scientists group theoretical particles based on the ideas or theories they come from. Some are predicted by the idea of supersymmetry, while others are thought to exist for different reasons.

Supersymmetric Particles

Supersymmetry is a fascinating idea in physics. It suggests that for every particle we know, there's a heavier "superpartner" particle. If supersymmetry is real, it could help solve some big mysteries in physics. Here are a few examples:

• Sfermion: This is the superpartner of a fermion. Fermions are basic building blocks of matter, like electrons and quarks.
• Slepton: This is the superpartner of a lepton. Leptons include particles like electrons and muons.
• Squark: This is the superpartner of a quark. Quarks are the tiny particles that make up protons and neutrons.
• Smuon: This is the superpartner of a muon, which is a type of lepton.

Particles That Break the Rules

Some theoretical particles are interesting because they would go against the known laws of physics. Scientists study them to understand why they can't exist, or if there's a tiny chance our understanding of physics might need an update.

• Tachyon: This is a hypothetical particle that would always travel faster than the speed of light. According to Albert Einstein's theories, nothing can travel faster than light, so tachyons are generally thought not to exist.

Other Hypothetical Particles

Many other particles are predicted by different theories, not just supersymmetry. These particles could help explain various phenomena in the universe.

• Sterile neutrino: Neutrinos are tiny particles that pass through almost everything. A sterile neutrino would be an even stranger type that barely interacts with anything at all, making it very hard to detect.
• Graviton: This is a theoretical particle that scientists think might carry the force of gravity. Just like photons carry light, gravitons would carry gravity. Finding them would help us understand gravity at a very small scale.
• Glueball: This is a theoretical particle made only of gluons. Gluons are particles that "glue" quarks together inside protons and neutrons. A glueball would be a particle where gluons are stuck together without any quarks.