The Standard Model of particle physics is often visualized as a table, similar to the periodic table of elements, and used to describe particle properties, such as mass, charge and spin.
The table is also organized to represent how these teeny, tiny bits of matter interact with the fundamental forces of nature.
But it didn’t begin as a table.
The grand theory of almost everything actually represents a collection of several mathematical models that proved to be timeless interpretations of the laws of physics.
Here is a brief tour of the topics covered in this gargantuan equation.
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The whole thing
This version of the Standard Model is written in the Lagrangian form. The Lagrangian is a fancy way of writing an equation to determine the state of a changing system and explain the maximum possible energy the system can maintain.
Technically, the Standard Model can be written in several different formulations, but, despite appearances, the Lagrangian is one of the easiest and most compact ways of presenting the theory.
Section 1
These three lines in the Standard Model are ultraspecific to the gluon, the boson that carries the strong force. Gluons come in eight types, interact among themselves and have what’s called a color charge.
Section 2
Almost half of this equation is dedicated to explaining interactions between bosons, particularly W and Z bosons.
Bosons are force-carrying particles, and there are four species of bosons that interact with other particles using three fundamental forces. Photons carry electromagnetism, gluons carry the strong force and W and Z bosons carry the weak force. The most recently discovered boson, the Higgs boson, is a bit different; its interactions appear in the next part of the equation.
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