muonium

[ myoo-oh-nee-uhm ]

noun

, Physics.

1. an electron and a positively charged muon bound together by electrical attraction in the same manner as the electron and proton in a hydrogen atom.

Word History and Origins

Origin of muonium¹

1955–60; mu(on) + -onium, probably extracted from positronium

Example Sentences

Senthil Nayagam, founder of an AI startup called Muonium AI, believes there is growing demand for deepfakes, especially of politicians.

From Seattle Times

Pionic helium is the latest addition to a zoo of exotic atoms, including positronium, muonium, muonic hydrogen, muonic deuterium and antihydrogen.

From Nature

So, in 1989, when chemists experimenting at a nuclear accelerator in Vancouver observed that a reaction between bromine and muonium—a hydrogen isotope—slowed down when they increased the temperature, they were flummoxed.

From Scientific American

Donald Fleming, a University of British Columbia chemist involved with the experiment, thought that perhaps as bromine and muonium co-mingled, they formed an intermediate structure held together by a “vibrational” bond—a bond that other chemists had posed as a theoretical possibility earlier that decade.

From Scientific American

In this scenario, the lightweight muonium atom would move rapidly between two heavy bromine atoms, “like a Ping Pong ball bouncing between two bowling balls,” Fleming says.

From Scientific American