pair production
noun
Physics. the simultaneous creation of a particle and its antiparticle by a nucleus or particle in an excited state, as when a photon is absorbed.
RELATED CONTENT
What Are Some Words For Sibling Pairs?These days, giving birth to twins is increasingly common. As many as 5 out of every 1,000 babies born shared a womb with their sibling. While cute and adorable are some starter words to use when welcoming new babies, here's a look at the lexicon to haul out when welcoming multiples!
Nearby words
Origin of pair production
First recorded in 1930–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for pair production
pair production
noun
the production of an electron and a positron from a gamma-ray photon in a strong field as that passes close to an atomic nucleus
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
Science definitions for pair production
pair production
[ pâr ]
The simultaneous creation of a subatomic particle and its antiparticle from some other particle or a field fluctuation. A high-energy gamma ray photon, for example, can spontaneously create an electron-positron pair in a strong electric field. Pair production is essential to theories of particle physics; pair production from gamma rays is used to detect such rays in pair production telescopes, since electrons and positrons are easily detected.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.