Lepton definition
A small coin of ancient Greece.
noun
(particle physics) Any of a class of fermions subject to the weak interaction but not the strong interaction, as the electron, neutrino, muon, or tau particle.
noun
Any of a class of six elementary fermions, two in each of the three generations of fundamental fermions (one negatively charged and one neutral), and including the electron, electron neutrino, muon, muon neutrino, tauon, and tauon neutrino, together with their associated antiparticles, the antileptons. Leptons participate in weak interactions, but not strong interactions, and have masses generally less than those of mesons and baryons.
noun
A former monetary unit of modern Greece, equal to1100 of a drachma.
noun
Any of a family of elementary particles that interact through the weak force and do not participate in the strong force. Leptons include electrons, muons, tau particles, and their respective neutrinos, the electron neutrino, the muon neutrino, and the tau neutrino. The antiparticles of these six particles are also leptons.
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An elementary particle with a spin of 1/2 (a fermion) which is immune to the strong nuclear force (including the electron, the muon, the neutrino and the tauon).
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun
Singular:
lepton
Plural:
lepta, leptonsOrigin of lepton
- lepto– –on
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Ancient Greek λεπτόν (lepton), neuter form of λεπτός (leptos, “small").
From Wiktionary
- From Ancient Greek λεπτός (leptos) +"Ž -on.
From Wiktionary