Z boson
Britishnoun
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An electrically neutral subatomic particle that mediates the weak nuclear force. The Z boson has a mass 182,000 times that of the electron. Unlike the other weak force mediator (the W boson), it does not change particles it interacts with into other types of particles. Like the photon, the Z boson is its own antiparticle.
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See Table at subatomic particle
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.
The electromagnetic force is conveyed by the photon, the strong force by the gluon, and the weak force by particles called the W boson and Z boson.
From Science Magazine • Mar. 27, 2024
For example, the exchanged photon can morph into an electron-positron pair and back into a photon, or one electron can emit and reabsorb a particle called a Z boson.
From Science Magazine • Nov. 30, 2022
A different type of particle smasher, called an electron-positron collider, should produce only a Higgs and another particle called a Z boson.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2018
Its identity is not yet known, but candidates include a heavier type of Z boson — a Zʹ— or a ‘leptoquark’.
From Nature • Jun. 6, 2017
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.
