onehundredmiles

Usually when someone hears the words ‘particle physics’ they usually think of reclusive scientists working in grey rooms surrounded by text books, computers and illegible scrawlings on the chalk board.
This stereotype need no longer apply, thanks to the Particle Zoo.

Particle Zoo is a website run by the Particle Zookeeper Julie Peasley, who hand crafts and sells plush toys based on the fundamental constituents of matter.
From electrons to W and Z bosons, all of the particles in the Standard Model (along with a few theoretical particles like Dark Matter and Tachyons, and all of the corresponding antiparticles) are represented by fluffy little balls with faces.
But it’s not THAT simple.
Each particle is weighted according to how strongly it interacts with the Higgs field. So the top quark weighs significantly more than the up quark, thanks to the different packing materials used.

I placed an order a few weeks ago for the ‘Everyday matter’ pack. A set of 6 particles which we all know and love (and are composed of): an electron, a proton, a neutron, an up quark, a down quark and an electron-neutrino.
My favourite particle is the neutrino, a notoriously difficult to detect particle, which comes in disguise wearing a mask, in the hopes of eluding detection further.

The website also includes several pictures of top Physicists and Nobel Laureates with their favourite particles, a feature which will surely banish any negative stereotype of Physicists!

Seriously though, go there and see if you can resist buying your own particle!

The only drawback is that the photon isn’t actually delivered at the speed of light, despite the note on the box!