How are photons related to quarks and how does that impact the image in the mirror
mirror mirror on the wall am I really even here at all?
FYI
now we are all looking at / talking about :
Particle Physics / High Energy Physics
Quantum Electrodynamics (QED)
The theoretical framework
Optics / Photonics
Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD)
Condensed Matter Physics
Quantum Field Theory
The entire objective of this article is to make the above into beans and chips, it might take a while.. and more than one go…
Photons vs Quarks
In the RED corner - PHOTONS:
Weight class: Massless (literally 0)
Fighting style: Speed demon (always moving at light speed)
Special move: Can pass through matter, reflects off electrons
Reach: Infinite (electromagnetic force has unlimited range)
Weakness: Can be absorbed or blocked
In the BLUE corner - QUARKS:
Weight class: Lightweight to Heavy (up/down are light, top is heavy)
Fighting style: Brawler (confined to close combat)
Special move: Color charge, strong force binding
Reach: 10^-15 meters (never leave the nucleus)
Weakness: Can NEVER fight alone (always in groups)
The Fight That Can't Happen
It's like arranging a boxing match between a ghost and a prisoner:
Photons = The ghost that can phase through walls
Quarks = The prisoner locked in nuclear jail
They exist in the same universe but operate under completely different rules. Photons are out there bouncing around making your mirror work, while quarks are locked inside protons and neutrons just trying to hold matter together.
The referee (Physics) says: "These two don't even interact! Photons only care about electric charge, and individual quarks are color-charged but electrically neutral in their confined state. No match possible!"
So your mirror keeps working because photons only need to box with electrons - a fair fight they've been having for 13.8 billion years!
Photons vs Quarks: Different Fundamental Particles
Photons are:
Elementary particles (can't be broken down further)
Force carriers for electromagnetism
Massless, always traveling at light speed
Bosons (integer spin)
They mediate electromagnetic interactions
Quarks are:
Elementary particles that make up protons and neutrons
Matter particles with mass
Fermions (half-integer spin)
Come in six "flavors" (up, down, charm, strange, top, bottom)
Confined inside hadrons by the strong force
The Key Distinction
Photons and quarks are fundamentally different types of particles:
Photons = force carriers (like messengers)
Quarks = matter building blocks (like bricks)
They're related only in that they're both part of the Standard Model of particle physics. Photons don't contain quarks, and quarks don't emit photons directly (though charged particles made of quarks can).
Impact on Mirror Reflection: None!
The beautiful simplicity is that mirror reflection only involves photons and electrons. Quarks, tucked away inside atomic nuclei, play no role in reflection. Here's why:
Photons interact with electrons, not quarks
Reflection happens at the electron level - in the metal's "electron sea"
Nuclear particles (containing quarks) are too deep in the atom to participate
The electromagnetic force (photons) doesn't directly affect quarks anyway
So your mirror image exists purely thanks to photon-electron interactions. The quarks in the mirror's atoms are just passive structural support, holding the nuclei together while electrons do all the optical work. It's like a building's foundation - essential for existence but irrelevant to what happens in the penthouse!
There’s a right few of them ..rons
electrons
photons
hadrons
fermions
neutrons
Feck Sake
I will have to revisit this and split it into a sub-series since it is a bit of a job to get ones head around it and a lot of both AI and Goo material seems to come from particle physicists ffs… lol