baryon

[bar-ee-on]

noun

Physics.

1. a proton, neutron, or any elementary particle that decays into a set of particles that includes a proton.

baryon

/ ˈbærɪˌɒn /

noun

1. any of a class of elementary particles that have a mass greater than or equal to that of the proton, participate in strong interactions, and have a spin of 1/ 2 . Baryons are either nucleons or hyperons. The baryon number is the number of baryons in a system minus the number of antibaryons

baryon

1. Any of a family of subatomic particles composed of three quarks or three antiquarks. They are generally more massive than mesons, and interact with each other via the strong force. Baryons form a subclass of hadrons and are subdivided into nucleons and hyperons. Protons and neutrons are baryons.

2. See Table at subatomic particle

Other Word Forms

• baryonic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of baryon¹

1950–55; < Greek barý ( s ) heavy + (fermi)on

Word History and Origins

Origin of baryon¹

C20: bary- , from Greek barus heavy + _-on

Example Sentences

Among those particles were hydrogen and helium nuclei, collectively called baryons.

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Sound waves reverberated through the gas like ripples in a pond, causing baryons to clump together, forming the seeds of future galaxies and clusters of galaxies.

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BAO stands for “baryon acoustic oscillation,” a sort of frozen sound wave created by processes near the dawn of time.

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It is believed to be a baryon acoustic oscillation, a pressure wave frozen in time from the beginning of the cosmos and then stretched out to galactic scales by the universe’s expansion.

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Lambda particles are baryons, which means they’re a type of hadron made of three quarks: one up quark, one down quark and one strange quark.

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