muon

[ myoo-on ]

/ ˈmyu ɒn /

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noun Physics.

a lepton similar in most respects to the electron except that it is unstable, it may be positively charged, and its mass is approximately 207 times greater; the positively charged muon is the antiparticle of the negatively charged muon. Symbol: μ

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Origin of muon

1950–55; by shortening of mu meson; see mu, -on¹

OTHER WORDS FROM muon

mu·on·ic, adjective

Words nearby muon

muntin, muntjac, muntrie, Müntzer, Muntz metal, muon, muon-catalysed fusion, muonic atom, muonium, muon-neutrino, M.U.P.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use muon in a sentence

Each second, about 100 billion neutrinos from the sun pass through your thumbnail, and you’re bathed in a rain of muons, birthed in Earth’s atmosphere.
How particle detectors capture matter’s hidden, beautiful reality|Emily Conover|August 5, 2021|Science News
The more than 5,000 detectors above ground watch for the ensemble of particles raining down after both cosmic ray strikes and gamma ray strikes, while the more than 1,000 underground detectors sense only muons.
The Crab Nebula’s electron launcher is so powerful, it almost shouldn’t exist|Monroe Hammond|July 9, 2021|Popular-Science
This way the scientists can generate a beam of muons that they can study, instead of a diffuse shower.
Readers react to birds colliding with wind turbines, mysterious muons and more|Science News Staff|July 3, 2021|Science News
The best explanation, physicists say, is that the muon is being influenced by forms of matter and energy that are not yet known to science, but which may nevertheless affect the nature and evolution of the universe.
This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through April 10)|Singularity Hub Staff|April 10, 2021|Singularity Hub

In 2001, an experiment hinted that one property of the muon was not exactly as the standard model predicted, but new studies were needed to confirm.
Scientists Found Hints of New Particles or Forces of Nature, and It Could Change Physics|Themis Bowcock|April 9, 2021|Singularity Hub
The behavior of the muon is well understood, but its role as one of the elementary particles is unknown.
LRL Accelerators|Lawrence Radiation Laboratory
The muon is unstable, eventually undergoing a radioactive decay into an electron.
LRL Accelerators|Lawrence Radiation Laboratory
Although the muon does not experience nuclear forces, it can interact weakly with nuclei.
LRL Accelerators|Lawrence Radiation Laboratory
That is, if the muon did not exist, what effect would this have on the structure of matter?
LRL Accelerators|Lawrence Radiation Laboratory

British Dictionary definitions for muon

muon

/ (ˈmjuːɒn) /

noun

a positive or negative elementary particle with a mass 207 times that of an electron and spin 1/2 . It was originally called the mu meson but is now classified as a lepton

Derived forms of muon

muonic (mjuːˈɒnɪk), adjective

Word Origin for muon

C20: short for mu meson

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

Scientific definitions for muon

muon

[ myōō′ŏn′ ]

An elementary particle in the lepton family having a mass 209 times that of the electron, a negative electric charge, and a mean lifetime of 2.2 X 10-6 seconds. The muon was originally called the mu-meson and was once thought to be a meson. See Table at subatomic particle.