elementary particle
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An elementary particle is the smallest known building block of matter and energy that cannot be broken down into anything smaller, including things like electrons, quarks, and photons. Understanding elementary particles matters because they are the fundamental ingredients that make up everything in the universe, from atoms to stars to light itself.
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In the Standard Model of particle physics, an elementary particle or fundamental particle is a subatomic particle that is not composed of other particles. The Standard Model recognizes seventeen distinct particles—twelve fermions and five bosons. As a consequence of flavor and color combinations and antimatter, the fermions and bosons are known to have 48 and 13 variations, respectively. These 61 elementary particles include electrons and other leptons, quarks, and the fundamental bosons. Subatomic particles such as protons or neutrons, which contain two or more elementary particles, are known as composite particles.
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