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

Does the entropy during the quark and gluon dominated phase of a proton collision differ from the entropy of the hadrons that later escape the collision zone?

From Science Daily ● Jan. 5, 2026

All interact by exchanging other particles: The photon conveys the electromagnetic force, the gluon carries the strong force that binds quarks, and the massive W and Z bosons carry the weak force.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 12, 2022

Figure 33.23 This Feynman diagram is the same interaction as shown in Figure 33.6, but it shows the quark and gluon details of the strong force interaction.

From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015

A gluon is a subatomic particle that binds quarks together.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 14, 2013

Similarly, confinement prevents one having a single gluon on its own, because gluons also have color.

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