US /ˈmju.ɑːn/ UK /ˈmjuː.ɒn/
noun Freq #99639

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    an unstable elementary lepton with about 207 times the electron's mass; the negative muon has the electron's charge, and its antiparticle is the positive antimuon

    A charged pion can decay into a muon and a neutrino.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · an unstable elementary... mu-meson
Word family
Derived forms muonicantimuonmuonium
Related forms leptonelectronmuon neutrinocosmic raypion

Etymology

A contraction of the earlier name mu-meson. Mu is the name of the Greek letter used in the symbol for the particle. The shorter name was adopted after the particle was recognized as a lepton rather than a meson.

Topics

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