Quantum Chromodynamics
Three Quarks for Mustermark
Saturday, February 1, 1964
Quantum Chromo-Dynamics. QCD, was proposed by physicist Murray Gell-Mann and in a short paper published in February 1964 he coined the term Quark for the first time.
Quantum Chromo-Dynamics… The name alone sends tingles down your spine, right? Not only are atoms (Greek meaning is indivisible!) made of protons and neutrons, but they in turn are made up of what Gell-Mann called quarks. Each quark consists of a superstring, according to the theory. Quarks are held together by gluons.
But where did Gell-Mann get the word Quark from? A rather odd poem called Finnegan’s Wake by Irish poet James Joyce was a favorite of Gell-Mann. In the poem is the line “Three quarks for Mustermark.” And Gell-Mann coined the term quark for his new particles. Now, in the poem, Mustermark is a philanderer and all-round cad, and a quark was like a squawk or a telling-off.
Quarks have different flavors, and they fit into the Standard Model:
Originally, Top and Bottom were proposed as Truth and Beauty; far more poetic... but not all physicists appreciate the poetic like Gell-Mann did, and Top and Bottom prevailed.