Introduction |
So, what is matter? Well, quite simply, matter is something (as in a person or an object) that occupies a physical amount of area in the space-time continuum (the universe you and I live in). You and I are quite familiar with ordinary matter--it can be perceived by one or more senses, i.e. you can touch it, see it, smell it, etc. Look at your hand, the mouse you are holding and clicking is composed of ordinary matter. The chair you are sitting in, the screen you are looking at, the shirt on your back, everything in the world you know and live in is just plain ol' ordinary matter.
Most of us learned about the composition of typical matter in high school. All matter is made of atoms that are arranged on the periodic table (which is organized by increasing atomic number beginning with Hydrogen-atomic number 1). There are over 100 different atoms, though some have never been found in nature. Everything from Tim to a toilet is composed of such atoms. Furthermore, these atoms are composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons (with positive, neutral, and negative charges respectively) which are, in turn, composed of smaller particles known as quarks and baryons. It is important to keep in mind the concept of baryons, as it becomes important later. A baryon is any fermion (particles that make up what we usually consider the material world, such as electrons and protons) that feels the influence of the strong force (the force of the nucleus). Because most ordinary matter is composed of baryons, it is often referred to as "baryonic matter." Please Note: For the sake of staying focused and on topic, we will not delve into the world of quarks. Matter has a range of physical properties like varying density, melting point, boiling point, freezing point, color or smell. There are also chemical properties like which elements combine with each other in reactions. Matter can combine in the same ways physically and chemically.
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