meson

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a hadron with integer spin, conventionally composed of a quark and an antiquark bound by the strong interaction; pions and kaons are mesons

   The pion is the lightest meson and plays an important role in the force between nucleons.

Coined in 1939 by physicist Homi Bhabha from Greek mesos ("middle") + the particle suffix -on. The name reflected the intermediate masses then associated with this class of particles and replaced the earlier term mesotron.

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