gluon

American  

[gloo-on] / ˈglu ɒn /

noun

Physics.

1. a massless particle with spin 1 that transmits the strong force between quarks, binding them together into baryons and mesons.

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gluon British  

/ ˈɡluːɒn /

noun

1. a hypothetical particle believed to be exchanged between quarks in order to bind them together to form particles

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gluon Scientific  

/ glo̅o̅′ŏn /

1. The subatomic particle that mediates the strong force. The exchange of gluons between two quarks changes the color of the quarks and results in the attractive force holding them together in hadrons. Gluons are bosons.

2. See Table at subatomic particle

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Etymology

Origin of gluon

First recorded in 1970–75; glue + -on ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gluon

Physicists first proposed the baryon junction, also called a gluon junction, in the 1970s as a way to describe how gluons connect the valence quarks inside a proton.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

As a result, when the collision occurs, the comparatively slower three-pronged gluon junction should be easier to stop and convert into new particles than the rapidly moving quarks.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

The electromagnetic force is conveyed by the photon, the strong force by the gluon, and the weak force by particles called the W boson and Z boson.

From Science Magazine ● Mar. 27, 2024

In QCD, though, the force carrier, the gluon, also carries a color charge and can interact through the strong force with itself and with quarks.

From Scientific American ● Feb. 22, 2023

It is believed that this force is carried by another spin-1 particle, called the gluon, which interacts only with itself and with the quarks.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking