Chapter 24: Particle Physics

Front 1

Nucleon Number

Back 1

The total number of protons and neutrons in a nucleus.

Front 2

Isotope

Back 2

Nuclei of the same element that have the same atomic number but different nucleon numbers.

Front 3

Atomic Mass Units (AMU)

Back 3

One twelfth the mass of a Carbon-12 atom.

Front 4

Strong Nuclear Force

Back 4

One of the four fundamental forces of nature, acting on hadrons and holding nuclei together.

Front 5

Antiparticle

Back 5

The antimatter counterpart of a particle, with the opposite charge and exactly the same rest mass.

Front 6

Weak Nuclear Force

Back 6

One of the four fundamental forces in nature, responsible for inducing Beta decay in an unstable nucleus.

Front 7

Hadron

Back 7

A particle or particle that is affected by the strong nuclear force and if charged by the electromagnetic force

Front 8

Lepton

Back 8

A fundamental particle or antiparticle that is not affected by the strong nuclear force.

Front 9

Quarks

Back 9

An elementary particle that can exist in six forms (plus antiparticles) and join with other quarks to form a hadron.

Front 10

Standard Model

Back 10

The current theory of particle physics that deals with elementary particles and their interactions,

Front 11

Beta Minus Decay

Back 11

A neutron in an unstable nucleus decays into: a proton, an electron and an electron anti-neutrino.

Front 12

Beta Plus Decay

Back 12

A proton in an unstable nucleus decays into: a neutron, a positron an electron neutrino.

Front 13

Baryon

Back 13

Any hadron made with a combination of three quarks.

Front 14

Meson

Back 14

Any hadron comprising of a combination of a quark and anti-quark.

Front 15

Neutrino

Back 15

A lepton that carries no charge and may have a negligible mass.