Fundamental Particles to Scale

In particle physics, a fundamental particle (or elementary particle) is a subatomic particle that is not composed of other particles. The Standard Model currently recognizes 17 distinct particles—twelve fermions and five bosons:

We present the graphic below, depicting on a precise scale all 17 basic building blocks of the universe plus the two most relevant composite particles: the protons and neutrons.

https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/102433751 — Fundamental Particles to Scale

2024 Idea and research by Julie R. Peasley, design by Pablo C.Budassi – sources: symmetrymagazine.org, wikipedia.org

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Elementary particles are incredibly small and lack traditional dimensions like length, width, and height. They are often described as point-like, meaning they are considered to have no size. However, their masses are quite diverse and measurable, and we are obtaining increasingly accurate values as of 2024.

The areas of the circles as depicted here correspond to the masses of the respective particles. The whole concept of this comparative graphic was the idea of Julie Peasley in 2023. She wrote a blog post detailing her research for obtaining the best current mass estimates for each particle, which was challenging. Her initial consulted sources included reputable particle labs’ websites worldwide, recent books on the subject, and a direct consultation with the communications department at CERN. Ultimately, for the final numbers, she relied primarily on Symmetry Magazine, published by Fermilab, and Quanta Magazine.

Let’s dive into The Particle Zoo:

In March 2024, Julie gave her approval for Pablo to integrate her infographic in a remix with his design approach. In this version, we have included the short facts above for each known particle, as well as for 4 hypothetical particles yet to be discovered:

Timeline of particle discoveries ordered by mass:

And those are the most challenging mysteries in the field from Julie’s original idea. The final poster is presented in either dark or light background: