flavor mixing

Flavor mixing refers to a quantum phenomenon where the elementary particles called quarks can transform into different types, or "flavors," through weak interactions. Instead of existing as fixed flavors (like up, down, strange), these quarks exist as combinations of states that can change over time. Imagine it like a mixture of colors blending into new shades; the original "colors" (flavors) are not static but can "mix" and convert into others. This process explains phenomena like neutrino oscillations and is fundamental to understanding the behavior of particles in the Standard Model of physics.