Few people do not know such a thing as "electron", and it is precisely he who means "elementary particle." Of course, most people have little idea what it is and why it is needed. On television, in books, in newspapers and magazines, these particles are depicted as small dots or balls. Because of this, unenlightened people believe that the shape of the particles is indeed spherical, and that they fly freely, interact, collide, etc. But such a judgment is fundamentally wrong. The concept of an elementary particle is extremely difficult to comprehend, but it is never too late to try to acquire at least a very rough idea of the essence of these particles.
At the beginning of the last century, scientists were seriously puzzled by why the electron does not fall on the atomic nucleus, because, according to Newtonian mechanics, when all its energy is released, it should simply fall on the nucleus. Surprisingly, this does not happen. How to explain this?
The fact is that physics in its classical interpretation and elementary particle are incompatible things. It does not obey any laws of ordinary physics, since it acts according to the principles of quantum mechanics. The underlying principle is uncertainty. He says that it is impossible to accurately and simultaneously determine two interrelated quantities. The more the first of them is determined, the less it is possible to determine the second. From this definition, quantum correlations, particle-wave dualism, tunnel effect, wave function, and much more follow.
The first important factor is the uncertainty of the coordinate-momentum. Based on the basics of classical mechanics, we can recall that the concepts of momentum and body trajectories are inseparable and are always clearly defined. Let's try to transfer this pattern into the microscopic world. For example, an elementary particle has an exact momentum. Then, when trying to determine the trajectory of movement, we will encounter the indeterminacy of the coordinate. This means that the electron is detected immediately at all points of a small volume of space. If you try to focus precisely on the trajectory of its movement, then the impulse acquires a fuzzy meaning.
It follows that no matter how hard they try to determine any specific quantity, the second immediately becomes indefinite. This principle is the basis of the wave property of particles. The electron does not have a clear coordinate. We can say that it is simultaneously located at all points of space, which is limited by the wavelength. This representation allows us to more clearly understand what constitutes an elementary particle.
About the same uncertainty arises in the energy-time relationship. The particle constantly interacts, even in the presence of a physical vacuum. This interaction lasts for some time. If you imagine that this indicator is more or less defined, then the energy becomes undetectable. This violates the accepted laws of conservation of energy in the laid small gaps.
The presented pattern gives rise to low-energy particles - quanta of fundamental fields. Such a field is not a continuous substance. It consists of the smallest particles. The interaction between them is ensured by the emission of photons, which are absorbed by other particles. This maintains the energy level and stable elementary particles are formed, which cannot fall on the nucleus.
Elementary particles are inherently inseparable, although they differ from each other in their mass and certain characteristics. Therefore, certain classifications have been developed. For example, leptons and hadrons can be distinguished by the type of interaction. Hadrons, in turn, are divided into mesons, which consist of two quarks, and baryons, which contain three quarks. The most famous baryons are neutrons and protons.
Elementary particles and their properties allow us to distinguish two more classes: bosons (with integer and zero spin), fermions (with half-integer spin). Each particle has its own antiparticle with opposite characteristics. Only protons, leptons and neutrons are stable. All other particles are subject to decay and turn into stable particles.