gluon
/ˈɡlu.ɑn/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.16 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A massless gauge boson that binds quarks together to form baryons, mesons and other hadrons and is associated with the strong nuclear force.
Example Sentences
- "Naive realism might ask today: Tell me what space is in itself, not in terms of other things. Tell me what a gluon is at bottom, or a neutrino, or a charge."
- "The so-called spin crisis has had important effects beyond simply confronting theorists with a particularly sharp challenge to their incomplete understanding of quantum chromodynamics, the underlying field theory of quarks and the gluons that mediate their strong interactions."
- "Lattice QCD explores the particle realm by taking a different tack. It simulates quark and gluon behaviors by applying the full QCD theory to a tiny grid like facsimile of the space-time in which particles actually interact."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gleyH- Proto-Indo-European *glóh₁ytn̥ Proto-Italic *gloiten Latin glūten Late Latin glūs Old French glubor. Middle English glew English glue Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron)bor. Latin ēlectrum Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icus New Latin ēlectricusbor. English electric Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyti Proto-Hellenic *éimi Ancient Greek ἰόν (ión)der. English ion blend English electronbf. ▲ Ancient Greek -ον (-on)influ. English -on English gluon From glue + -on. From being a particle (suffix "-on") that "glues" (attracts) together particles that feel the force carried by the gluon. Coined by American physicist Murray Gell-Mann in 1962.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɡlu.ɑn/
- British English: /ˈɡluː.ɒn/