  The standard model and Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) have undergone rigorous
tests at distances much shorter than the size of a nucleon. Up to now, the
predicted phenomena are reproduced rather well. However, at distances
comparable to the size of a nucleon, new experimental results keep appearing
which cannot be described consistently by effective theories based on QCD. The
physics of strange and charmed quarks holds the potential to connect the two
energy domains, interpolating between the limiting scales of QCD. This is the
regime which will be explored using the future Antiproton Annihilations at
Darmstadt (PANDA) experiment at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research
(FAIR).
  In this contribution some of the most relevant physics topics are detailed;
and the reason why PANDA is the ideal detector to study them is given.
Precision studies of hadron formation in the charmonium region will greatly
advance our understanding of hadronic structure. It may reveal particles beyond
the two and three-quark configuration, some of which are predicted to have
exotic quantum numbers in that mass region. It will deepen the understanding of
the charmonium spectrum, where unpredicted states have been found recently by
the B-factories. To date the structure of the nucleon, in terms of parton
distributions, has been mainly investigated using scattering experiments.
Complementary information will be acquired measuring electro-magnetic final
states at PANDA.
