tachyon
43
9.9
- noun
- /ˈtækiˌɒn/
- Specialized
:
taquión
- The early-bird particles could have been tachyons, which, because of their high speeds, would have arrived sooner than the other particles of the shower.
Examples
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Scientists hypothesize that a tachyon could exist, moving faster than the speed of light.
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This whole tower funnels energy via tachyon, a particle that moves significantly faster than light.
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And if every string theory had a tachyon, you would not have heard of string theory.
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The energy and momentum of the tachyon would always be real quantities.
Academic text (1996) -
What do you know about deep space tachyons?
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Because tachyons travel faster than light, once we harness them...
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One sign of tachyons would be Cherenkov radiation, the optical equivalent of sonic booms.
Academic text (1996) -
In theoretical physics, a tachyon is a particle that may travel faster than light, challenging our understanding of physics.
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The concept of a tachyon fascinates researchers, as it suggests the possibility of faster-than-light communication.
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
tachyon = tachy (semi-transparent) = tachy + on
Formed from the combining form 'tachy-' (swift) plus the particle-forming suffix '-on'; the literal 'fast particle' is clear to those who know these elements, but these components are not familiar to average learners.
Etymology
Tachyon comes from the Greek root tachy- meaning 'swift' or 'fast' and the particle ending -on, the same ending in electron. So a tachyon is an imagined particle that would move faster than light.