From what is the Universe made of?

Answer 1

At the most basic level the universe is made of matter, energy and empty space. The empty space is colloquially known as "Vacuum", but no true vacuum exists naturally. Vacuum is the absence of matter or energy. Matter is made up of atoms, which are themselves made up of Protons, Neutrons and Electrons.

Protons are positively charged particles that are present in the center of atoms, usually accompanied by Neutrons (the exception to this is Hydrogen, which has no Neutrons). Neutrons are particles without a net positive or negative charge. They reside in the center of most atoms and are slightly more massive then Protons. Electrons are the least massive of the three and they orbit around the center of the atom. All three of these particles, however, are made of elementary particles called Quarks.

Quarks are a member of a group of particles known as elementary or fundamental particles. This group includes quarks, leptons, and bosons. These fundamental particles are further organized into bosons or fermions based on their spin. All things in the universe are made of bosons or fermions.

Beyond that we also have energy. Energy is described as the ability of one thing to influence another. Energy can be categorized in two ways. Kinetic Energy and Potential Energy. Kinetic energy is energy that is being expressed upon the environment by the motion of the object, whether that be on the atomic or macroscopic scales. Potential Energy is Energy held in a system that has not been released, such as the energy of a coiled spring.

If you want to know what the universe is made of on an even more basic scale I would advise you to read up on M-Theory which states that the universe is made of a series of interacting membranes.