meson
noun/ˈmiːzɒn/ · /ˈ-sɒn/
Etymology From meso- + -on. Coined by Indian physicist Homi Bhabha in 1939, as a modification of the earlier suggestion mesotron.
1
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.)
2
Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics Particle, Specifically 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
- mesotron
- Derived terms
- antimeson, B meson, dimeson, eta meson, exotic meson, hybrid meson, hypermeson, intermeson, J/psi meson, J/ψ meson, K-meson, mesic, mesonic, mesonics, mesonium, multimeson, mu-meson, photomeson, pi meson, pi-minus meson, pi-plus meson, rho meson, upsilon meson
- Hyponyms
- scalar meson, vector meson