There is no such thing as a particle of carbon.
They vary greatly in size or quantity, from subatomic particles like the electron, to microscopic particles like atoms and molecules, to macroscopic particles like powders and other granular materials.
I don't understand why you are choosing to conflate a quark and a molecule of carbon. My entire point is that the usage of the word particle, which literally means "a point in space", for such a range of systems is inadequate. You can have dust particles as well, which are macroscopic and much bigger than molecules, so I'm not sure what position you're trying to establish, exactly. I know what an elementary particle is, I'm not just saying fancy words like quark and standard model because I read them in a Pop Sci magazine or skimmed a Wikipedia article. An elementary particle is a type of particle, but let's not move goalposts here.
I can't help it if you want to willfully ignore the meaning of the word "particle" in order to make an irrelevant argument on the internet. You failed to understand the context of my original post and are continuing to double down on this absurd position. Just because you were thinking of just elementary particles doesn't mean that's all that was being discussed.
> It's as helpful as claiming that quarks are a misnomer, because they are obviously not a dairy product.
Quark is a made up word and has nothing to do with dairy. What on earth are you talking about?
How can you sit here and argue that particle isn't a good word for these systems and then say that I'm misusing the word "particle" when I've clearly been pointing out from the start that I don't like the broad application the word has. It's not my fault that the word "particle" means what it does, but you tried to shift the discussion to just the class of elementary particles, not me.
You're literally arguing just to argue. And your need to downvote me and attempt to insult my intelligence instead of having a civil discussion just reinforces what kind of person you are. Please stop embarrassing yourself and read up on these things before interjecting as an armchair physicist.
The german word "Quark" is a dairy product, "curd" or "curd cheese" in english according to dictionary.