Editing Eightfold way (physics) (section)

===Modern interpretation===

The eightfold way may be understood in modern terms as a consequence of [[flavour (particle physics)|flavor]] symmetries between various kinds of [[quark]]s. Since the [[strong interaction|strong nuclear force]] affects quarks the same way regardless of their flavor, replacing one flavor of quark with another in a hadron should not alter its mass very much, provided the respective quark masses are smaller than the strong interaction scale—which holds for the three light quarks. Mathematically, this replacement may be described by elements of the [[special unitary group|SU(3) group]]. The octets and other hadron arrangements are [[representation theory|representations]] of this group.