strangeness
Americannoun
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the quality or condition of being strange.
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Physics. a quantum number assigned the value −1 for one kind of quark, +1 for its antiquark, and 0 for all other quarks; the strangeness of a hadron is the sum of the values for the strangeness of its constituent quarks and antiquarks. S
noun
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the state or quality of being strange
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physics a property of certain elementary particles, characterized by a quantum number ( strangeness number ) conserved in strong and electromagnetic but not in weak interactions. It is associated with the presence of strange quarks
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The property of containing a strange quark or antiquark. Strangeness is expressed in terms of an integer quantum number, −1 for each strange quark and +1 for each strange antiquark. Hadrons that possess strangeness are called strange. The total strangeness of a quantum system is unchanged by decay processes involving the strong or electromagnetic forces; however, decay through the weak force can change the total strangeness of the system.
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See also baryon number isospin
Etymology
Origin of strangeness
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; strange, -ness
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In this account of life with a wild creature—a being by turns serene and frisky, trusting and standoffish—Ms. Dalton connects readers with the strangeness of the natural world.
The fact that Ammonite has a completely different orbit from the other sednoids has left astronomers puzzling over the diversity and strangeness of the outer Solar System.
From Space Scoop
The Joshua tree’s strangeness shifted from repulsive to striking.
From Los Angeles Times
"I think one of the reasons people resonate with the Addams family so much is their strangeness," Ortega reflects.
From BBC
“What’s happened to the movies, which were filled with ambiguity and intimate strangeness a few short years ago, but now are crammed with spaceships and sharks?”
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
