What gives the charge of particle?

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    Charge Particle
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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the nature of electric charge in particles, specifically why certain particles like protons and electrons possess positive and negative charges, while others like neutrons and neutrinos are electrically neutral. The scope includes theoretical considerations and fundamental properties of particles.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that charge is a fundamental property of certain particles without an underlying reason for its existence.
  • It is noted that protons and neutrons are composed of quarks, with up quarks having a charge of +2/3 and down quarks -1/3, leading to the observed charges of protons and neutrons.
  • One participant suggests that similar questions about mass could lead to understanding mechanisms like the Higgs mechanism, implying a connection to the nature of dark matter through electrically neutral particles like WIMPs.
  • Another participant argues that while the Higgs mechanism explains how particles acquire mass, it does not address why particles have specific charges, similar to how electromagnetism explains charge interactions but not the origin of charge itself.
  • It is emphasized that protons and neutrons are not elementary particles, and their charges can be attributed to their quark content, but the fundamental reason for quark charges remains unknown.
  • Some participants highlight that the Standard Model does not provide an origin or mechanism for the charges of particles, paralleling other fundamental constants in physics that lack deeper explanations.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a general consensus that the origin of charge in particles is not well understood, with multiple competing views on the implications and connections to other fundamental properties like mass. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the underlying reasons for charge existence.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the lack of consensus on the fundamental reasons for charge existence and the dependence on the definitions of elementary versus composite particles. The discussion also touches on unresolved questions regarding the origins of other fundamental properties.

us40
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why some particles like proton and electron have positive and nagetive charge while neutron and neutrino are electrically neutral??
 
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Charge is a fundamental property of certain particles. There is no underlying reason why these charges exist. We simply observe that they do.

Also, protons and neutrons are made up of quarks. Up quarks have +2/3 charge, while down quarks have -1/3 charge. Since protons have 2 up quarks and 1 down quark they have +1 charge. Neutrons have two down quarks and one up quark, leading to no net charge. Electrons and neutrinos are fundamental particles and simply have -1 and zero charge respectively.
 
Drakkith said:
Charge is a fundamental property of certain particles. There is no underlying reason why these charges exist. We simply observe that they do.

Also, protons and neutrons are made up of quarks. Up quarks have +2/3 charge, while down quarks have -1/3 charge. Since protons have 2 up quarks and 1 down quark they have +1 charge. Neutrons have two down quarks and one up quark, leading to no net charge. Electrons and neutrinos are fundamental particles and simply have -1 and zero charge respectively.
but we can say same thing for mass but we can find higgs mechanism by raising this type of question why some particle have mass and other are massless.and since wimps are electrically neutral we can understand their nature by charge giving mechanism and so nature of dark matter.
 
The higgs mechanism does not explain why particles have the masses they have, it only explains how it works. Much like electromagnetism explains how charges interact but not why each particle has the charge that it has.
 
us40 said:
why some particles like proton and electron have positive and nagetive charge while neutron and neutrino are electrically neutral??

Just so you know, a "proton" and a "neutron" are not elementary particles, while electron and neutrino are. So there is a "reason" why proton and neutron have the charges (or lack of charges) that they do (quark content). But then, you can always ask why the quarks have those charges, very much like the electron and neutrino.

The short answer is, we do not know. The Standard Model of elementary particles currently does not have an origin or a mechanism for the origin of charges, the same way it doesn't explain the origin of spins quantum number. There are many things in our universe in which the quantities have no underlying or more fundamental explanation (speed of light, fine structure constants, etc.. etc.).

Zz.
 

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