Mostly while you're reading this, you're sat down. Thanks to particle physics it was made possible.

Yes that's right, and its the exact same thing that prevents your fingers from penetrating the keyboard or the screen! But why? If we look at the standard model we notice something called the "gluon" the particle behind "the strong force". In school we studied that the nucleus has protons (positive charge) and neutrons (neutral charge), and there goes the electrons (negative charge) on the shells of the atom. But have you ever wondered how the nucleus is still holding together even since its overall charge is positive? "the strong force" a force capable of preventing the protons' powerful repulsion and keeping a nucleus intact is undeniably strong.

*this image is pretty overwhelming I know! But as we progress through the courses it'll certainly be less so.

Everything around you is made of particles

whilst you read this blog on your device, trillions of trillions of particles hit your body in this exact second. It plays as the building blocks of the universe. But before we expand lets focus on the screen you're this from. "photons", particles of light, enable you to see everything around you. Thats the electromagnetic force; it also associates charges in general, so the love-hate relationship electrons and protons have is governed by the electromagnetic force. Therefore, your device is operated on this principle.

Roses are red, violets are blue, the sun gives off heat, and it gives cool particles too

If the sun magically disappears we would't be able to survive. It gives off heat by radiation (definitely not fire). The sun is fueled by hydrogen, and as we know hydrogen constituents are a single proton with an electron. And two hydrogen atoms inside a star with extreme heat and pressure, they will fuse (combine with each other). But aren't we missing something? How can two positive charged particles combine with each other when they repel each other? "The weak force" ironically it's called the weak force but it's by no means less important than the other forces, firstly its cool because all kinds of particles can feel it. Secondly its cool because it can change the identity of a particle! It causes the transmutation of protons to neutrons, then they shall combine. And this is how heavy nuclei is built as well. Through beta decay involving the Z and W bosons.

Particle physics is a gate

In the world of particle physics, the big challenge is figuring out what everything around us is made of and how it behaves when it's incredibly tiny. Think of it as a gate that through it we explores everything, from the smallest building blocks of matter to the farthest reaches of space, in a quest to learn more about our universe.

Put in simply; particle physics:

• Holds matter together.

• Make up light, materials, and charges.

• Introduced radiation.

• Through it we discover.