ABSTRACT
At the time of this writing, all experimental results are consistent with a model of particle physics which contains six quarks (up, down, charm, strange, top and bottom) and six leptons (electron neutrino, electron, muon neutrino, muon, tau neutrino and tau). The properties of these particles, with the exception of the neutrino masses, have been measured accurately, and the standard model describes their weak, electromagnetic and strong interactions as mediated by the W and Z bosons, photons and gluons, respectively, with remarkable accuracy [1]. Lacking in this description are a consistent quantum theory of the gravitational interaction, and any understanding of the pattern suggested by the properties of the fermions.
