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muon

muon

5 9.9
A small particle like an electron but much heavier and lasting only a very short time
  • noun
  • /ˈmjuːɒn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : muón
  • The muon decays into other particles within a fraction of a second, illustrating its short half-life.
  • electron and muon
  • muon neutrino
  • muon detector

This means that the number of available muons decreases.

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Examples

  • In particle physics, a muon is often used to study fundamental forces due to its relatively large mass compared to an electron.

  • To produce muonic hydrogen, pulses from an intense, low-energy muon beam strike a hydrogen target.

    Blog text (15)
  • Well, first of all, it's the rest energy of the Muon and the neutrino, OK.

  • This means that the number of available muons decreases.

  • The key observation was that the muon clearly moved 400 meters upward through the Earth.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Two groups have now verified the fact that the Muon has a differing magnetic moment than predicted by the standard model.

  • They confirmed an anomaly of the Muon that's a heavier version of the electron.

  • Also, high-energy muons are nicely aligned with the direction of their parent neutrino, making astronomy possible.

    Academic text (2000)
  • The collaboration can distinguish muons from electrons (and positrons) with something like 98% efficiency.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Muon particles are produced when cosmic rays collide with the Earth's atmosphere, creating showers of particles including muons.

Synonyms

negative muon
vsmuon
  • Specialized
9.9

A tiny charged particle that lasts about 2 microseconds and becomes an electron and two neutrinos

focuses on larger mass and similarity to electron rather than decay detail
mu-meson
vsmuon
  • Archaic
9.9

An extremely small particle with negative charge that lasts about two microseconds and becomes an electron and two neutrinos

uses modern elementary classification focusing on mass rather than naming history

Compounds

muon neutrino
  • Specialized
9.9

A very light particle with no electric charge related to the muon

negative muon
  • Specialized
9.9

A tiny charged particle that lasts about 2 microseconds and becomes an electron and two neutrinos

positive muon
  • Specialized
9.9

A small particle with positive electric charge that turns into other tiny particles

Surface Forms

muon singular
muons plural

Morphology

muon = mu (opaque) = mu + on

The name is formed from the Greek letter 'mu' plus the particle-naming suffix '-on', but knowing 'mu' does not enable a typical B1 learner to infer that it denotes an elementary subatomic particle.

Etymology

Muon comes from the Greek letter mu and the particle ending -on, as in electron. So a muon is the particle named 'mu' and is like an electron but much heavier.