nucleon

American  

[noo-klee-on, nyoo-] / ˈnu kliˌɒn, ˈnyu- /

noun

Physics.

1. a proton or neutron, especially when considered as a component of a nucleus.

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nucleon British  

/ ˈnjuːklɪˌɒn /

noun

1. a proton or neutron, esp one present in an atomic nucleus

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nucleon Scientific  

/ no̅o̅′klē-ŏn′ /

1. A proton or a neutron, especially as part of an atomic nucleus.

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Other Word Forms

• internucleon adjective
• internucleonic adjective
• nucleonic adjective

Etymology

Origin of nucleon

First recorded in 1935–40; nucle(us) + -on ¹

Example Sentences

The high-speed motion of orbiting sensors increases the coupling between axion halos and nucleon spins, producing a tenfold sensitivity improvement compared with Earth-based dark matter searches.

From Science Daily

The team's research, published this month in the journal Physical Review Letters, has finally shed the first light on how these nucleon resonances work at their core.

From Salon

Much of the power to smash nucleons, therefore, comes from splitting nuclei.

From Scientific American

The strong nuclear interaction that binds nucleons together in an atomic nucleus is essentially the same between protons and neutrons.

From Nature

The resulting data were used to investigate the interactions that occur between nucleons separated by very small distances, and to show that current models of nucleon–nucleon interactions might be valid at these short distances.

From Nature