isospin
[ahy-suh-spin]
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Origin of isospin
by shortening
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
isospin
- an internal quantum number used in the classification of elementary particles. Particles which have very similar properties except for those associated with their charge are regarded as forms of the same fundamental particle with different components of the isospin in a certain direction in an imaginary spaceAlso called: isobaric spin, isotopic spin
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
isospin
[ī′sə-spĭn′]
- A vector quantity of quantum systems (especially subatomic particles) that is conserved in strong interactions and is used to characterize particles that are affected equally by the strong force but have other dissimilar properties, such as different electric charges. For example, protons and neutrons, which are indistinguishable with respect to strong force interactions, have the same isospin. Also called isotopic spin See also baryon number strangeness.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.