Are quarks real?

Question

So there are up quarks and down quarks according to the quark theory. Are they real anyway?

Answer 1

No isolated up or down quarks has been observed, and actually the quantum chromodynamics theory states that most quark cannot be isolated, except the top quark which would decay too fast to be confined, and could then be observed.

That said, the quark theory explains too many things just too nicely, and scientists are convinced thay are real. So, I guess we can trust them and go along with it, until another scientists comes with a better scheme.

Answer 2

It kind of depends what you mean by real. Quarks do not exist independently of one another. (For example, you'll never find just an up quark floating around because they are always contained in other subatomic particles.) However, they are extremely useful in theories that accurately predict the results of experiments. For theoretical physics, that's about as close to real as you'll get.
For the record, there are six types of quarks: up, down, top, bottom, strange, and charmed. Up and down quarks are the only thing we find in common matter. (Neutrons and protons are made of them.)

Answer 3

they are called quarks because whoever named them wanted scientists to sound like ducks when they discussed them. (really)

Quarks have several properties, but the names are arbitrary.

Quarks are a basic building block of matter, and are themselves made of photons which have harmonic orbits through the 11 dimensions.

Right after the BIG BANG, there was not enough room for photons to form the fundamental orbits we call light, so many of them clumped into quarks, when then, as the universe cooled, grouped into the bigger chunks we call protons, neutrons, etc.

The energies needed to separate matter into quarks are extremely high, this is why scientists use accelerators to smash atoms apart.

Answer 4

I had an atomic duck once as a pet. All day it was like this:

quark! quark! quarck!

It was very real. And I may say quite annoying.

Answer 5

Ofcourse they are!!!....and guess what, they also come in different types (up quark and down quark)!!!

Answer 6

Don't forget the guy from Deep Space Nine.

Answer 7

like you said, they are a theory, I always believe that anything that is a "theory" has not yet been proved to be real...

Answer 8

...well theres no physical evidence yet