When quarks are split, which technically refers to the process of attempting to separate them, we encounter a fascinating aspect of particle physics governed by the strong nuclear force. Quarks are never found in isolation; instead, they combine in groups to form protons, neutrons, and other hadrons. This is due to the phenomenon known as color confinement.
As you try to separate two quarks, the force pulling them apart increases exponentially. You might expect that if enough energy is applied, you could break them apart, but instead of isolating the quarks, the energy creates new quark-antiquark pairs from the vacuum. This phenomenon result leads to the creation of new particles rather than a successful separation of the original quarks. This is why, under normal conditions, quarks are never found alone, and we only observe them in composite particles.
In summary, splitting quarks doesn’t lead to isolated quarks; rather, it results in the formation of new particles due to the underlying principles of quantum chromodynamics, the theory describing the strong interaction among quarks and gluons.