Specialist dictionary

Particle physics

Specialist vocabulary classified under Physics.

Core vocabulary

72 featured terms

The database can contain more terms than shown here; this page prioritises the strongest mappings.

M-theorynoun

(particle physics) a theory that involves an eleven-dimensional universe in which the weak and strong forces and gravity are unified and to whic…

String theorynoun

(particle physics) a theory that postulates that subatomic particles are one-dimensional strings

Antiparticlenoun

a particle that has the same mass as another particle but has opposite values for its other properties; interaction of a particle and its antipa…

baryonnoun

any of the elementary particles having a mass equal to or greater than that of a proton and that participate in strong interactions; a hadron wi…

Bosonnoun

any particle that obeys Bose-Einstein statistics but not the Pauli exclusion principle; all nuclei with an even mass number are bosons

Color forcenoun

(physics) the interaction that binds protons and neutrons together in the nuclei of atoms; mediated by gluons

Electronnoun

an elementary particle with negative charge

Elementary particlenoun

(physics) a particle that is less complex than an atom; regarded as constituents of all matter

Fermionnoun

any particle that obeys Fermi-Dirac statistics and is subject to the Pauli exclusion principle

Fundamental particlenoun

(physics) a particle that is less complex than an atom; regarded as constituents of all matter

Hadronnoun

any elementary particle that interacts strongly with other particles

Heavy particlenoun

any of the elementary particles having a mass equal to or greater than that of a proton and that participate in strong interactions; a hadron wi…

High energy physicsnoun

the branch of physics that studies subatomic particles and their interactions

High-energy physicsnoun

the branch of physics that studies subatomic particles and their interactions

Mesonnoun

an elementary particle responsible for the forces in the atomic nucleus; a hadron with a baryon number of 0

Mesotronnoun

an elementary particle responsible for the forces in the atomic nucleus; a hadron with a baryon number of 0

Mu-mesonnoun

an elementary particle with a negative charge and a half-life of 2 microsecond; decays to electron and neutrino and antineutrino

Muonnoun

an elementary particle with a negative charge and a half-life of 2 microsecond; decays to electron and neutrino and antineutrino

Negative muonnoun

an elementary particle with a negative charge and a half-life of 2 microsecond; decays to electron and neutrino and antineutrino

Negatronnoun

an elementary particle with negative charge

neutrinonoun

an elementary, electrically neutral particle with a very small mass

neutronnoun

an elementary particle with 0 charge and mass about equal to a proton; enters into the structure of the atomic nucleus

Particle physicsnoun

the branch of physics that studies subatomic particles and their interactions

photonnoun

a quantum of electromagnetic radiation; an elementary particle that is its own antiparticle

Protonnoun

a stable particle with positive charge equal to the negative charge of an electron

Strong forcenoun

(physics) the interaction that binds protons and neutrons together in the nuclei of atoms; mediated by gluons

Strong interactionnoun

(physics) the interaction that binds protons and neutrons together in the nuclei of atoms; mediated by gluons

Weak forcenoun

(physics) an interaction between elementary particles involving neutrinos or antineutrinos that is responsible for certain kinds of radioactive…

Weak interactionnoun

(physics) an interaction between elementary particles involving neutrinos or antineutrinos that is responsible for certain kinds of radioactive…

Quarknoun

(physics) hypothetical truly fundamental particle in mesons and baryons; there are supposed to be six flavors of quarks (and their antiquarks),…

leptonnoun

an elementary particle that participates in weak interactions; has a baryon number of 0

Bosonic string theorynoun

the original version of string theory, developed in the late 1960s.; "Although bosonic string theory has many attractive features, it falls shor…

Antibaryonnoun

the antiparticle of a baryon; a hadron with a baryon number of -1

Antileptonnoun

the antiparticle of a lepton

Antimesonnoun

the antiparticle of a meson

Antiquarknoun

the antiparticle of a quark

B-mesonnoun

exceedingly short-lived meson

Cosmic stringnoun

(cosmology) a hypothetical one-dimensional subatomic particle having a concentration of energy and the dynamic properties of a flexible loop

Delta raynoun

an electron ejected from matter by ionizing radiation

Free electronnoun

electron that is not attached to an atom or ion or molecule but is free to move under the influence of an electric field

Gauge bosonnoun

a particle that mediates the interaction of two elementary particles

Hydrogen ionnoun

a positively charged atom of hydrogen; that is to say, a normal hydrogen atomic nucleus

Hyperonnoun

any baryon that is not a nucleon; unstable particle with mass greater than a neutron

J particlenoun

a neutral meson with a large mass

K particlenoun

an unstable meson produced as the result of a high-energy particle collision

K-mesonnoun

an unstable meson produced as the result of a high-energy particle collision

Kaonnoun

an unstable meson produced as the result of a high-energy particle collision

Kappa-mesonnoun

an unstable meson produced as the result of a high-energy particle collision

Mu neutrinonoun

the neutrino associated with the muon.; "In 1962, Leon M. Lederman, Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger showed that more than one type of neutr…

Muon neutrinonoun

the neutrino associated with the muon.; "In 1962, Leon M. Lederman, Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger showed that more than one type of neutr…

Nucleonnoun

a constituent (proton or neutron) of an atomic nucleus

Pangennoun

a hypothetical heredity-controlling particle of protoplasm.

Photoelectronnoun

an electron that is emitted from an atom or molecule by an incident photon

Pi-mesonnoun

a meson involved in holding the nucleus together; produced as the result of high-energy particle collision

Pionnoun

a meson involved in holding the nucleus together; produced as the result of high-energy particle collision

Psi particlenoun

a neutral meson with a large mass

Strange particlenoun

an elementary particle with non-zero strangeness

Stringnoun

(cosmology) a hypothetical one-dimensional subatomic particle having a concentration of energy and the dynamic properties of a flexible loop

Tau neutrinonoun

the neutrino associated with the tau lepton.; "When the third type of lepton, the tau, was discovered in 1975 at the Stanford Linear Accelerator…

Tauon neutrinonoun

the neutrino associated with the tau lepton.; "When the third type of lepton, the tau, was discovered in 1975 at the Stanford Linear Accelerator…

Valence electronnoun

an electron in the outer shell of an atom which can combine with other atoms to form molecules

Weakly interacting massive particlenoun

a hypothetical subatomic particle of large mass that interacts weakly with ordinary matter through gravitation; postulated as a constituent of t…

WIMPnoun

a hypothetical subatomic particle of large mass that interacts weakly with ordinary matter through gravitation; postulated as a constituent of t…

Beauty quarknoun

a quark with a charge of -1/3 and a mass about 10,000 times that of an electron

Bottom quarknoun

a quark with a charge of -1/3 and a mass about 10,000 times that of an electron

Charm quarknoun

a quark with an electric charge of +2/3 and a mass 2900 times that of an electron and a charm of +1

Down quarknoun

a stable quark with an electric charge of -1/3 and a mass 607 times that of an electron

S quarknoun

a quark with an electric charge of -1/3 and a mass 988 times that of an electron and a strangeness of -1

Strange quarknoun

a quark with an electric charge of -1/3 and a mass 988 times that of an electron and a strangeness of -1

Top quarknoun

a hypothetical quark with a charge of +2/3 and a mass more than 100,000 times that of an electron

Truth quarknoun

a hypothetical quark with a charge of +2/3 and a mass more than 100,000 times that of an electron

Up quarknoun

a stable quark with an electric charge of +2/3 and a mass 607 times that of an electron