Matter and fields
Most familiar objects can be traced through a chain of organization: elementary particles and fields → nucleons → nuclei → atoms → molecules → macroscopic matter.
ParticlesElectrons, quarks, neutrinos and other particles carry a small set of fundamental properties.
Fields and interactionsPhysical fields describe how interactions propagate and how particles influence one another.
Composite structureQuarks form protons and neutrons; nucleons form nuclei; nuclei and electrons form atoms.
ChemistryAtomic electron structure allows atoms to bind into molecules and materials.
Collective matterLarge numbers of particles produce solids, liquids, gases, plasma and more complex phases.