bottom quark

noun

Physics.

1. the quark having electric charge −1/3 times the elementary charge and bottom quantum number −1. It is more massive than the up, down, strange, and charmed quarks.

bottom quark

1. A quark with a charge of − 1/3. Its mass is smaller than that of the top quark, but larger than that of all the other quarks. The bottom quark is sometimes referred to as the beauty quark, though this term is falling out of use.

2. See Table at subatomic particle

Word History and Origins

Origin of bottom quark¹

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

Two sets of similar but heavier particles can pop into brief existence: the muon, muon neutrino, charm quark, and strange quark; and the tau, tau neutrino, top quark, and bottom quark.

Read more on Science Magazine

Upsilons, which contain a bottom quark and an anti-bottom quark, can form in collisions and then fly through the quark-gluon plasma, acting as test probes to reveal how the plasma changes them.

Read more on Scientific American

Both the strange and bottom quark carry a negative electric charge.

Read more on Scientific American

And the third comprises the top quark, the bottom quark, the tau and the tau neutrino, where the charged fermions are even more massive.

Read more on Nature

Several nations built dedicated accelerators to explore the bottom quark in detail.

Read more on Nature