elementary particles

Cultural  

1. The particles that make up the atom. The elementary particles include electrons and a large number of particles, including protons and neutrons, that exist inside the nucleus of atoms. Strictly speaking, the term elementary as applied to most of the particles in the nucleus is inaccurate, for scientists now believe that all the particles except electrons are made of still more elementary particles called quarks.

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The study of elementary particles is one of the frontiers of modern physics and is associated with the building of particle accelerators.

Example Sentences

Scientists suspect that this subtle rotation could be linked to hypothetical elementary particles called axions.

From Science Daily

Because electrons are elementary particles, these experiments will offer a clearer way to probe dense gluon systems inside individual protons.

From Science Daily

Scientists can use them to test whether certain hypothesized light-weight elementary particles exist and how massive they are.

From Science Daily

The Nobel committee praised "their penetrating investigation... which has led to important discoveries regarding the elementary particles".

From BBC

Finally elementary particles are protons, electrons, neutrons and all other particles that are smaller than an atom.

From Salon