boson

[boh-son]

noun Physics.

any particle that obeys Bose-Einstein statistics: bosons have integral spins: 0, 1, 2, …

Compare fermion.

Origin of boson

1945–50; named after S. N. Bose (1894–1974), Indian physicist; see -on¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for boson

Contemporary Examples of boson

For 50 years, scientists had predicted the existence of the particle we now know as Higgs boson, which gives mass to matter.
Give It Up for the Other Nobel Prize Winners
Nina Strochlic
October 12, 2013

Historical Examples of boson

I have written to secure my grandson Boson a view of the ceremony.
Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino v.2/3, 1836-1840
Duchesse De Dino
The mate and boson, with about fifteen of the crew—Samoans and Tongans—were on board.
South Sea Tales
Jack London
First thing the mate knew, the boson and the crew were killed in the first rush.
South Sea Tales
Jack London
There,' says our new-made ensign to our boson, 'what it says.
Wide Courses
James Brendan Connolly
The angel of mercy has withdrawn from your boson a beloved child.
Withered Leaves from Memory's Garland
Abigail Stanley Hanna

British Dictionary definitions for boson

boson

noun

any of a group of elementary particles, such as a photon or pion, that has zero or integral spin and obeys the rules of Bose-Einstein statisticsCompare fermion

Word Origin for boson

C20: named after Satyendra Nath Bose; see -on

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for boson

class of subatomic particles, named for Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose (1894-1974) + subatomic particle suffix -on.

boson in Science

boson

[bō′sŏn]

Any of a class of elementary or composite particles, including the photon, pion, and gluon, that are not subject to the Pauli exclusion principle (that is, any two bosons can potentially be in the same quantum state). The value of the spin of a boson is always an integer. Mesons are bosons, as are the gauge bosons (the particles that mediate the fundamental forces). They are named after the physicist Satyendra Nath Bose. Compare fermion. See Note at elementary particle. See Table at subatomic particle.