hyperon

[ hahy-puh-ron ]

noun

, Physics.

1. any baryon with strangeness other than zero, especially one with a relatively long lifetime.

hyperon

/ ˈhaɪpəˌrɒn /

noun

1. physics any baryon that is not a nucleon

hyperon

/ hī′pə-rŏn′ /

1. Any of various baryons, other than the proton and neutron, that are unstable. The lambda particle is such an example. Hyperons are heavier than protons and neutrons, and they have nonzero strangeness .

Word History and Origins

Origin of hyperon¹

First recorded in 1950–55; hyper- + -on ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of hyperon¹

C20: from hyper- + -on

Example Sentences

One with a core made of pliable hyperon matter could have a smaller radius still.

From Nature

And Gell-Mann made a prediction: that there should be one additional type of hyperon, that he called the W–, with strangeness –3, and certain mass and decay characteristics.

From Scientific American

But whereas neutrons contain the most basic and lowest-energy quarks, known as up and down quarks, a hyperon has at least one of those replaced with an exotic ‘strange’ quark.

From Nature