Fundamental particles are objects that are so small, they have no deeper internal structure.
There are about a dozen “matter” particles that scientists think are fundamental, and they come in a variety of sizes. For instance, the difference between the masses of the top quark and the electron is equivalent to the difference between the masses of an adult elephant and a mosquito.
Still, all of these masses are extremely tiny compared to what’s physically possible. The known laws of physics allow for fundamental particles with masses approaching the “Planck mass”: a whopping 22 micrograms, or about the mass of a human eyelash. To go back to our comparisons with currently known particles, if the top quark had the same mass as an elephant, then a fundamental particle at the Planck mass would weigh as much as the moon.
Could such a particle exist? According to CERN Theory Fellow Dorota Grabowska, scientists aren’t completely sure.
“Particles with a mass below the Planck scale can be elementary,” Grabowska says. “Above that scale, maybe not. But we don’t know.”
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