What is Top quark?
[[File:Top antitop quark event.svg|thumbnail|400px|right|A [[proton]] and an antiproton smashing into each other produce a top quark and a top [[antiparticle|antiquark]], which then quickly decay into more things.]]'''Top quarks''' or '''truth quarks''' are the heaviest known [[elementary particle]]s ([[particle]]s that are so small that they can not be divided). All [[quark]]s are elementary particles, and since they are [[fermion]]s (which means that no two of them can exist in the same place at the same time), they have a [[Spin (physics)|spin]] of 1/2. Top quarks [[interact]] with all four of the [[fundamental forces]], which are [[gravity]], [[electromagnetism]], [[strong force]], and [[weak force]]. Almost all of the time, top quarks will decay into a [[bottom quark]] and a [[W boson]], although it can sometimes decay into a [[strange quark]]. One top quark weighs about as much as one [[atom]] of [[tungsten]]. Since top quarks are so [[Mass|massive]], scientists have been able to make predictions about the [[mass]] of the [[Higgs Boson]], the only type of [[boson]] with an [[:en:Spin_(physics)|intrinsic spin]] of 0 ([[scalar boson]]). Unfortunately, top quarks are only believed to be able to exist for 5x10<sup>–25</sup> seconds. ==References== *{{Cite arXiv|date=June 2005 |title=Top Quark Production and Properties at the Tevatron |author1=Frank Fiedler |author2=for the D0 |author3=CDF Collaborations |arxiv=hep-ex/0506005 }} *{{cite web |author=R. Nave |title=Quarks |url=http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Particles/quark.html |work=[[HyperPhysics]] |publisher=[[Georgia State University]], Department of Physics and Astronomy |accessdate=2008-06-29 }} *{{cite book |author=A. Pickering |title=Constructing Quarks |pages=114–125 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=1984 |isbn=0-226-66799-5 }} {{elementary}} [[Category:Quarks]]