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Glite Dictionary
J particle

J particle

9.9
A heavy neutral particle made of a charm quark and its antiparticle
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : partícula J
  • The discovery of the J particle in 1974 confirmed the existence of the charm quark.

Examples

  • The mass of the J particle is significantly greater than that of most other mesons.

  • Physicists studied the decay patterns of the J particle in high-energy experiments.

  • The J particle was discovered in 1974.

  • Scientists are studying the properties of the J particle.

  • Physicists studied the decay patterns of the J particle in high-energy experiments.

  • The discovery of the J particle in 1974 confirmed the existence of the charm quark.

  • The mass of the J particle is significantly greater than that of most other mesons.

Synonyms

psi particle
vsJ particle
  • Specialized
9.9

A heavy neutral meson made of a quark and an antiquark seen in physics experiments

is identical in meaning but uses the alternate name

Surface Forms

J particle singular
J particles plural

Morphology

J + particle

This is a technical proper name: 'J' is just a letter/symbol (no lexical meaning given) and 'particle' is a generic noun, so the specific referent (the J/psi meson) and its properties are not derivable from the parts. Understanding requires domain-specific physics knowledge or prior exposure, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituents would not infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

J particle gets its name from the 1974 discovery when two teams found the same heavy particle; one team called it J because a quick mark in a scientist's notebook looked like the letter J, while the other called it psi. So the particle became known as 'J/psi', and that is why people now say J particle.