Nuclear & Particle

Question 1

Antimatter

Answer 1

Particle with same mass/rest energy as its matter particle but with opposite charge and quantum numbers

Question 2

Baryon

Answer 2

Particle consisting of 3 quarks, will decay into the most stable baryon, the proton

Question 3

Baryon number?

Answer 3

Measure of if a particle is a baryon: baryon = +1, antibaryon = -1, any other particle = 0

Baryon number conservation is critical in particle interactions and reactions.

Question 4

Cyclotron?

Answer 4

Particle accelerator consisting of two semicircular dees with a gap between them where particles will accelerate, due to alternating voltage electric field, in a spiral

Question 5

Fundamental particles

Answer 5

Particles that can’t be broken down into smaller constituents

Fundamental particles include quarks, leptons, and bosons

Question 6

Hadron

Answer 6

Particles that experience the strong force, made from quarks

Hadrons are categorized into baryons and mesons

Question 7

Lepton

Answer 7

Fundamental particles that do not experience the strong force

Electrons, muons, and neutrinos are examples of leptons

Question 8

Lepton number

Answer 8

Measure of if a particle is a lepton: lepton = +1, antilepton = -1, any other particle = 0

Lepton number conservation plays a vital role in particle interactions.

Question 9

LINAC

Answer 9

Linear particle accelerator, accelerates charged particles through sets of oscillating electric fields creating large electric potentials that accelerated the particles

Question 10

Meson

Answer 10

Particle consisting of a quark and antiquark

Question 11

Nucleon number

Answer 11

Number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus

Question 12

Proton number

Answer 12

Number of protons in the nucleus

Question 13

Quark

Answer 13

Fundamental particle that interacts with each other via the strong force

Flavours: up, down, strange, charm, top, and bottom

Question 14

Quark confinement

Answer 14

Quarks cannot exist alone, only as they are grouped in baryons and mesons

Question 15

Relativistic motion

Answer 15

When particles are travelling close to the speed of light, they will experience time at a slower rate

Question 16

Strangeness

Answer 16

Measure of how strange a hadron is: S quark = -1, anti S quark = +1, other quarks = 0
Kaons are strange particles

Question 17

Thermionic emission

Answer 17

When a metal is heated, free electrons gain sufficient kinetic energy and are released from the metal’s surface

Question 18

Weak force

Answer 18

Force that causes quarks to change flavor and is responsible for beta decay