quantum chromodynamics
- noun
- /ˈkwɒntəm kroʊmədɪˈnæmɪks/
- Specialized
:
cromodinámica cuántica
- The study of quantum chromodynamics, often abbreviated as QCD, is essential for understanding how quarks are held together in protons and neutrons.
- quantum chromodynamics (QCD)
Examples
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Quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the current theory of the strong interactions, is a field theory of quarks and gluons.
Academic text (2003) -
The postulate is that gluons play the same role in quantum chromodynamics that photons do in electrodynamics.
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They were developing what came to be called quantum chromodynamics or QCD.
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It has wide application to quantum chromodynamics, other quantum field theories, fluid dynamics, all kinds of things.
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("Color," as in quantum chromodynamics, refers here to the hadronic analogue of charge rather than to anything optical.)
Academic text (2003) -
In a letter to DESY management in May, several dozen theorists wrote that "HERA has the potential to provide data crucial to our developing understanding of QCD (quantum chromodynamics)."
Academic text (2003) -
String theory, Fourier-conjugate spinors, and quantum chromodynamics are linked in ways that suggest new methods to compute probability amplitudes for high-energy particle interactions.
Academic text (2004) -
The noncommutative extension of quantum chromodynamics leads to a modulation of the nucleon spin frequency corresponding to an energy of order 0.1 GeV<sup>-2</sup>, subNC.
Academic text (2004) -
Quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the standard theory of the strong interactions, does not obviously forbid qqqqq baryons or qqq mesons.
Academic text (2003) -
Researchers study quantum chromodynamics to gain insights into the fundamental forces that govern atomic structure.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A physics theory that explains the force that holds protons and neutrons together
Surface Forms
Morphology
quantum + chromodynamics
Although the term is formed from recognizable pieces ('quantum' + a form related to 'chromo' and 'dynamics'), the constituents do not yield the specific scientific meaning. 'Chromodynamics' is not a common standalone word and 'chromo' here denotes a technical 'color' charge in particle physics rather than literal color, so a B1 learner who knows the parts would not be able to infer the theory about quark binding and gluons without specialized knowledge.
Etymology
Quantum chromodynamics comes from three parts: quantum means very small particles, chromo comes from a word for 'colour', and dynamics means movement or forces. So the name helps you remember that this theory explains how tiny particles called quarks use a 'colour' charge to stick together and hold protons and neutrons inside atoms.