Hadrons

What are Hadrons and Protons?

Hadrons

Hadrons are atomic particles made of quarks. One example of a hadron is the proton, a particle found in every atomic nucleus. Protons contain 3 quarks of two different types (2 ‘up’ quarks and 1 ‘down’ quark). The neutron is the other particle commonly found in atomic nuclei, these are also hadrons and are made up of 1 ‘up’ and 2 ‘down’ quarks.

Protons

Protons have a positive electric charge and consequently are affected by magnetic fields. This means that beams of protons can be ‘steered’ around the LHC using powerful superconducting electromagnets. The first step in creating high energy collisions in the LHC is to strip away the electrons from ordinary hydrogen atoms, which consist of a proton and electron, to provide protons to feed into the accelerators.