Atomic Particles

What are Atomic Particles and Lead Nuclei?

Atomic Particles

A large number of atomic particles have been discovered in the last 100 years, but the most common are those which make up the atoms that are the building blocks of our familiar world; including our bodies, the air we breathe and the stars we see in the night sky. These particles (electrons, quarks and force-carriers) are only part of a list that includes many strange and exotic particles; some have been observed in experiments, while others are ‘known’ only from theory.

Lead Nuclei

The nuclei of lead atoms contain many protons (82) and neutrons (125) and consequently are much heavier than the single proton of the hydrogen nucleus. Once lead atoms have been stripped of their surrounding cloud of electrons the remaining nucleus carries a positive charge that allows them to be accelerated in the LHC like the much smaller single proton of the hydrogen nucleus. However, their greater mass potentially allows scientists to study the results of collisions at very high energy densities, where they expect to observe quark/gluon plasma - a state of matter that existed very early in the evolution of the universe before more familiar atomic particles appeared.