meson
/ˈmɛs.ɒn/ noun
Forms mesons
- noun (rare outside entomology) The mesial plane dividing the body into similar right and left halves.
- noun (obsolete) A member of a group of subatomic particles having a mass intermediate between electrons and protons. (The most easily detected mesons fit this definition.)
- noun (now specifically, particle physics) An elementary particle that is composed of a quark and an antiquark, such as a kaon or pion. (Mesons composed of rarer quarks are much heavier.)
Synonyms
Etymology
From Ancient Greek μέσον (méson, “middle”). Doublet of medium.
From meso- + -on. Coined by Indian physicist Homi Bhabha in 1939, as a modification of the earlier suggestion mesotron.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “meson”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details