deuteron

[ doo-tuh-ron, dyoo- ]

noun

, Physics.

1. a positively charged particle consisting of a proton and a neutron, equivalent to the nucleus of an atom of deuterium.

deuteron

/ ˈdjuːtəˌrɒn /

noun

1. the nucleus of a deuterium atom, consisting of one proton and one neutron

deuteron

/ do̅o̅′tə-rŏn′ /

1. The nucleus of a deuterium atom, consisting of a proton and a neutron. It is regarded as a subatomic particle with unit positive charge.

Word History and Origins

Origin of deuteron¹

1933; < Greek deúter ( os ) second + -on ¹

Example Sentences

In HD+, a proton is replaced by a deuteron, which makes the molecule more accessible in spectroscopic terms.

From Science Daily

In the lab, Wu and Shaknov used it to bombard a sheet of copper with deuterons, generating an unstable isotope, Cu 64, as a source of positrons—the antimatter.

From Scientific American

In the first step of this fusion process, two protons inside the sun fuse into a deuteron while giving off a neutrino and a positron—the antiparticle of the electron.

From Scientific American

To make the deuteron and hydrogen ion orbit under the same conditions, Myers and Fink kept the two in the same electromagnetic trap for weeks at a time.

From Science Magazine

The deuteron mass, md, is then found in atomic mass units, where one atomic mass unit is defined as one-twelfth the mass of the carbon atom.

From Nature