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Leptons
In particle physics, a lepton is an elementary particle of half-integer spin ( spin ) that does not undergo strong interactions. Two main classes of leptons exist: charged leptons (also known as the electron-like leptons or muons), including the electron, muon, and tauon, and neutral leptons, better known as neutrinos. Charged leptons can combine with other particles to form various composite particles such as atoms and positronium, while neutrinos rarely interact with anything, and are consequently rarely observed. The best known of all leptons is the electron. There are six types of leptons, known as '' flavours'', grouped in three '' generations''. The first-generation leptons, also called ''electronic leptons'', comprise the electron () and the electron neutrino (); the second are the ''muonic leptons'', comprising the muon () and the muon neutrino (); and the third are the ''tauonic leptons'', comprising the tau () and the tau neutrino (). Electrons have the least m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electron
The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up quark, up and down quark, down quarks. Electrons are extremely lightweight particles that orbit the positively charged atomic nucleus, nucleus of atoms. Their negative charge is balanced by the positive charge of protons in the nucleus, giving atoms their overall electric charge#Charge neutrality, neutral charge. Ordinary matter is composed of atoms, each consisting of a positively charged nucleus surrounded by a number of orbiting electrons equal to the number of protons. The configuration and energy levels of these orbiting electrons determine the chemical properties of an atom. Electrons are bound to the nucleus to different degrees. The outermost or valence electron, valence electrons are the least tightly bound and are responsible for th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Composite Particle
This is a list of known and hypothesized microscopic particles in particle physics, condensed matter physics and cosmology. Standard Model elementary particles Elementary particles are particles with no measurable internal structure; that is, it is unknown whether they are composed of other particles. They are the fundamental objects of quantum field theory. Many families and sub-families of elementary particles exist. Elementary particles are classified according to their Spin (physics), spin. Fermions have half-integer spin while bosons have integer spin. All the elementary particles of the Standard Model have been experimentally observed, including the Higgs boson in 2012. Many other hypothetical elementary particles, such as the graviton, have been proposed, but not observed experimentally. Fermions Fermions are one of the two fundamental classes of particles, the other being bosons. Fermion particles are described by Fermi–Dirac statistics and have quantum numbers de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muon
A muon ( ; from the Greek letter mu (μ) used to represent it) is an elementary particle similar to the electron, with an electric charge of −1 '' e'' and a spin of ''ħ'', but with a much greater mass. It is classified as a lepton. As with other leptons, the muon is not thought to be composed of any simpler particles. The muon is an unstable subatomic particle with a mean lifetime of , much longer than many other subatomic particles. As with the decay of the free neutron (with a lifetime around 15 minutes), muon decay is slow (by subatomic standards) because the decay is mediated only by the weak interaction (rather than the more powerful strong interaction or electromagnetic interaction), and because the mass difference between the muon and the set of its decay products is small, providing few kinetic degrees of freedom for decay. Muon decay almost always produces at least three particles, which must include an electron of the same charge as the muon and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tau (particle)
The tau (), also called the tau lepton, tau particle or tauon, is an elementary particle similar to the electron, with negative electric charge and a spin-1/2, spin of . Like the electron, the muon, and the three neutrinos, the tau is a lepton, and like all elementary particles with half-integer spin, the tau has a corresponding antiparticle of opposite charge but equal mass and spin. In the tau's case, this is the "antitau" (also called the ''positive tau''). Tau particles are denoted by the symbol and the antitaus by . Tau leptons have a lifetime of and a mass of /''c''2 (compared to /''c''2 for muons and /''c''2 for electrons). Since their interactions are very similar to those of the electron, a tau can be thought of as a ''much'' heavier version of the electron. Because of their greater mass, tau particles do not emit as much bremsstrahlung, bremsstrahlung (braking radiation) as electrons; consequently they are potentially much more highly penetrating than electrons. Bec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tauon
The tau (), also called the tau lepton, tau particle or tauon, is an elementary particle similar to the electron, with negative electric charge and a spin of . Like the electron, the muon, and the three neutrinos, the tau is a lepton, and like all elementary particles with half-integer spin, the tau has a corresponding antiparticle of opposite charge but equal mass and spin. In the tau's case, this is the "antitau" (also called the ''positive tau''). Tau particles are denoted by the symbol and the antitaus by . Tau leptons have a lifetime of and a mass of /''c''2 (compared to /''c''2 for muons and /''c''2 for electrons). Since their interactions are very similar to those of the electron, a tau can be thought of as a ''much'' heavier version of the electron. Because of their greater mass, tau particles do not emit as much bremsstrahlung (braking radiation) as electrons; consequently they are potentially much more highly penetrating than electrons. Because of its short lifeti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flavour (particle Physics)
In particle physics, flavour or flavor refers to the ''species'' of an elementary particle. The Standard Model counts six flavours of quarks and six flavours of leptons. They are conventionally parameterized with ''flavour quantum numbers'' that are assigned to all subatomic particles. They can also be described by some of the family symmetries proposed for the quark-lepton generations. Quantum numbers In classical mechanics, a force acting on a point particle, point-like particle can only alter the particle's dynamical state, i.e., its momentum, angular momentum, etc. Quantum field theory, however, allows interactions that can alter other facets of a particle's nature described by non-dynamical, discrete quantum numbers. In particular, the action of the weak interaction, weak force is such that it allows the conversion of quantum numbers describing invariant mass, mass and electric charge of both quarks and leptons from one discrete type to another. This is known as a flav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Standard Model
The Standard Model of particle physics is the Scientific theory, theory describing three of the four known fundamental forces (electromagnetism, electromagnetic, weak interaction, weak and strong interactions – excluding gravity) in the universe and classifying all known elementary particles. It was developed in stages throughout the latter half of the 20th century, through the work of many scientists worldwide, with the current formulation being finalized in the mid-1970s upon experimental confirmation of the existence of quarks. Since then, proof of the top quark (1995), the tau neutrino (2000), and the Higgs boson (2012) have added further credence to the Standard Model. In addition, the Standard Model has predicted various properties of weak neutral currents and the W and Z bosons with great accuracy. Although the Standard Model is believed to be theoretically self-consistent and has demonstrated some success in providing experimental predictions, it leaves some physics be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electron Neutrino
The electron neutrino () is an elementary particle which has zero electric charge and a spin of . Together with the electron, it forms the first generation of leptons, hence the name ''electron neutrino''. It was first hypothesized by Wolfgang Pauli in 1930, to account for missing momentum and missing energy in beta decay, and was discovered in 1956 by a team led by Clyde Cowan and Frederick Reines (see Cowan–Reines neutrino experiment). Proposal In the early 1900s, theories predicted that the electrons resulting from beta decay should have been emitted at a specific energy. However, in 1914, James Chadwick showed that electrons were instead emitted in a continuous spectrum. : → + : The early understanding of beta decay In 1930, Wolfgang Pauli theorized that an undetected particle was carrying away the observed difference between the energy, momentum, and angular momentum of the initial and final particles.Niels Bohr was notably opposed to this interpreta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muon Neutrino
The muon neutrino is an elementary particle which has the symbol and zero electric charge. Together with the muon it forms the second generation of leptons, hence the name muon neutrino. It was discovered in 1962 by Leon Lederman, Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger. The discovery was rewarded with the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics. Discovery The muon neutrino or "neutretto" was hypothesized by several physicists in the 1940s. The first paper on it may be Shoichi Sakata and Takesi Inoue's two-meson theory of 1942, which also involved two neutrinos. In 1962 Leon M. Lederman, Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger proved the existence of the muon neutrino in an experiment at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. This earned them the 1988 Nobel Prize. Apparent speed anomaly In September 2011 OPERA researchers reported that muon neutrinos were apparently traveling at faster than the speed of light. This result was confirmed in a second experiment in November 2011. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tau Neutrino
The tau neutrino or tauon neutrino is an elementary particle which has the symbol and zero electric charge. Together with the tau (particle), tau (), it forms the third generation (physics), generation of leptons, hence the name tau neutrino. Its existence was immediately implied after the tau particle was detected in a series of experiments between 1974 and 1977 by Martin Lewis Perl with his colleagues at the SLAC–Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, LBL group. The discovery of the tau neutrino was announced in July 2000 by the DONUT, DONUT collaboration (Direct Observation of the Nu Tau). In 2024, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory published findings of seven astrophysical tau neutrino candidates. As of 2022 they have been called the "least studied particle in the standard model" because of their low cross section, difficulty of production, and difficulty to distinguish from other neutrino flavors. One review argues they are worth studying more in order to finally completel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strong Interaction
In nuclear physics and particle physics, the strong interaction, also called the strong force or strong nuclear force, is one of the four known fundamental interaction, fundamental interactions. It confines Quark, quarks into proton, protons, neutron, neutrons, and other hadron particles, and also binds neutrons and protons to create atomic nuclei, where it is called the nuclear force. Most of the mass–energy equivalence, mass of a proton or neutron is the result of the strong interaction energy; the individual quarks provide only about 1% of the mass of a proton. At the range of 10−15 m (1 femtometer, slightly more than the radius of a nucleon), the strong force is approximately 100 times as strong as electromagnetism, 106 times as strong as the weak interaction, and 1038 times as strong as Gravity, gravitation. In the context of atomic nuclei, the force binds protons and neutrons together to form a nucleus and is called the nuclear force (or ''residual strong force'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neutrino
A neutrino ( ; denoted by the Greek letter ) is an elementary particle that interacts via the weak interaction and gravity. The neutrino is so named because it is electrically neutral and because its rest mass is so small ('' -ino'') that it was long thought to be zero. The rest mass of the neutrino is much smaller than that of the other known elementary particles (excluding massless particles). The weak force has a very short range, the gravitational interaction is extremely weak due to the very small mass of the neutrino, and neutrinos do not participate in the electromagnetic interaction or the strong interaction. Consequently, neutrinos typically pass through normal matter unimpeded and with no detectable effect. Weak interactions create neutrinos in one of three leptonic flavors: # electron neutrino, # muon neutrino, # tau neutrino, Each flavor is associated with the correspondingly named charged lepton. Although neutrinos were long believed to be mas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
