Quantum chromodynamics

In particle physics, Qquantum chromodynamics (abbreviated as QCD) is a specific kind of quantum field theory which supposes that fundamental particles or hadrons (such as protons and neutrons) are made up of quarks and gluons which interact while they also have a kind of charge named "colour" (this is not the same as real colours). For the quarks, three colours are disinguished; red, green an blue. The colour of a quark's anti-particle partner is known as anti-red, anti-green or anti-blue. Another specific property of QCD is that the forces between the quarks increases as the distance between them becomes larger, which is known as asymptotic freedom.

Since the 1950s, experimental tests have been carried out which have confirmed many aspects of QCD.

References

• Hawking, S. & Mlodinow, L. The Grand Design: New Answers To The Ultimate Question of Life, Bantam Press, 2010.