hypercharge

[ hahy-per-chahrj ]

noun

, Physics.

1. a quantum number assigned to baryons and mesons, equal to B + S, where B is the baryon number and S is the strangeness.
2. the quantum number equal to B + S + C, where C is the charm.

hypercharge

/ ˈhaɪpəˌtʃɑːdʒ /

noun

1. a property of baryons that is used to account for the absence of certain strong interaction decays

Word History and Origins

Origin of hypercharge¹

First recorded in 1955–60; hyper- + charge