Abstract
Radiation consists, ultimately, of subatomic matter and non-matter particles (e.g. photons) and nuclei. The mechanisms by which radiation impacts the surrounding world is determined by the laws that govern subatomic particle interactions. This chapter presents the elementary and composite particles discovered so far and introduces the forces by which these particles interact. The emphasis is placed on an overview of the current knowledge in this field, rather than an historical or theoretical account of the topic.
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Notes
- 1.
SI is the International System of Units , in which the energy is measured in joule (J).
- 2.
The mass of particles is expressed in units of energy when using natural units, a full explanation is given in Sect. 1.1.
- 3.
Spin is a form of angular momentum possessed by elementary particles.
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Glossary
Glossary
Electronvolt (eV) Kinetic energy gained by an electron after accelerating through a potential difference of 1 volt
SI International System of Units
Planck constant Fundamental constant that relates the energy of a photon with its frequency
Ångström (Å) Distance corresponding to \(10^{-10}\) m which is approximately the scale of an atom
Antimatter Collective name for the antiparticles
Baryons Composite particles which are bound states of three quarks or three antiquarks
Boson Particle with spin 1, such as the photon and the Higgs particle
Feynman diagram Pictorial mathematical representation of particle interactions
Fermi (f) Distance corresponding to \(10^{-15}\)Â m which is approximately the scale of the atomic nucleus
Fundamental forces The four known fundamental forces of nature: electromagnetic, weak nuclear, strong nuclear, and gravitational
Hadrons Composite particles which are bound states of quarks
Higgs boson Particle manifestation of the Higgs field, whose existence is key to explaining how leptons, quarks and the electroweak bosons acquire their own mass
Lepton Elementary matter particle with spin 1/2, such as the electron, the muon and the neutrino
Mesons Composite particles which are bound states of one quark and one antiquark
Muon Elementary unstable particle belonging to the second family of the leptons. Its mass is 106Â MeV and mean lifetime of \(\mathrm{2.2\,\upmu s}\)
Quark Elementary matter particle, present for instance in the protons and neutrons of an atomic nucleus
Standard Model Quantum-mechanical relativistic theory of the electroweak and strong interactions between elementary particles
Speed of light Fundamental constant which in vacuum corresponds to
Top quark The heaviest of the quarks, with a mass of 173Â GeV
Ultraviolet (UV) Part of the electromagnetic spectrum corresponding to wavelengths between 100Â nm and 400Â nm
X-ray (soft) Electromagnetic radiation corresponding to wavelengths between 0.01Â nm and 10Â nm
X-ray (hard) Electromagnetic radiation corresponding to energies of the order 10–100 keV
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Cerrito, L. (2017). Particles and Forces. In: Radiation and Detectors. Graduate Texts in Physics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53181-6_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53181-6_1
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