Possible smallest particle ever found: '100 billion times smaller than an atom'

British researchers at CERN's Large Hadron Collider discovered signals from the smallest particle ever found, a beauty quark, which is 100 billion times smaller than an atom. They studied the debris from particle collisions rather than the particle itself. Despite its fleeting existence, the beauty quark's interactions with other particles could provide insights into dark matter, a largely unknown component of the universe. Understanding these tiny particles may help scientists detect dark matter, which constitutes most of the cosmos. Lead researcher Harry Cliff emphasized the significance of their findings in exploring the 'zeptoverse'.