gluon

[gloo-on]

noun

Physics.

1. an unobserved massless particle with spin 1 that is believed to transmit the strong force between quarks, binding them together into baryons and mesons.

gluon

/ ˈɡluːɒn /

noun

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

gluon

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of gluon¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of gluon¹

C20: from _glue + _-on

Example Sentences

The results reveal that quarks and gluons, the fundamental building blocks that make up a proton's structure, are subject to so-called quantum entanglement.

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Quarks and gluons are the fundamental building blocks of protons and neutrons -- elementary particles that combined to forge the basic elements of the periodic table.

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The last bit of spin is thought to come from the movements of the proton's quarks and gluons.

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This is a plasma "soup" of quarks and gluons that have been set free, or "deconfined," from nuclear matter -- protons and neutrons -- in the particle collisions.

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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.

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