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The
Standard Model and the four forces
The quarks and gluons
of the strong (or colour) force are the third piece in
the puzzle of nature's four forces. The first piece, the electromagnetic
force, is similar to the strong force but instead of gluons,
particles of light, photons, are the force carriers. The
gluons carry colour charge while the photons are electrically
neutral. The second piece in the puzzle is the weak force,
which controls some radioactive decays and energy production
in the sun. This force differs from the other two because
the force-carrying particles are very heavy. The fourth
force, gravity, is the least understood even though it is experienced
by us all. Gravitons are thought to be the force-carrying
particles, but they have yet to be discovered. The Standard
Model provides a description of all the forces apart from
gravity.
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