particle physics Flashcards
neutrino
Neutrinos are the most abundant particles that have mass in the universe. Every time atomic nuclei come together (like in the sun) or break apart (like in a nuclear reactor), they produce neutrinos.
gauge boson
a virtual particle that transfers force between two subatomic particles, also known as an exchange particle
lepton
any member of a class of subatomic particles that respond only to the electromagnetic force, weak force, and gravitational force and are not affected by the strong force
hadron
any member of a class of subatomic particles that are built from quarks and thus react through the agency of the strong force
meson
any member of a family of subatomic particles composed of a quark and an antiquark. Mesons are sensitive to the strong force
baryon
heavy subatomic particles that are made up of three quarks. Both protons and neutrons, as well as other particles, are baryons
antimatter
matter composed of antiparticles.created by high energy collisions and particle decays only exists in small amounts
pair production
A process in which a photon’s energy is manifested as the masses of an electron and a positron.
annihilation
reaction in which a particle and its antiparticle collide and disappear, releasing energy
nucleon number
the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom
atomic number
the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom
also the number of electrons
isotope
members of a family of an element that all have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons
ion
an atom or molecule that has gained or lost one or more electrons
quark
a fundamental constituent of matter and is defined as an elementary particle.
strangeness
a conserved quantised quantity carried by the strange quark which has strangeness S=-1
