subatomic particle

American  

[suhb-uh-tahm-ik pahr-ti-kuhl] / ˌsʌb əˈtɑm ɪk ˈpɑr tɪ kəl /

noun

plural

subatomic particles

1. Physics. any of various basic constituents of matter that are smaller than an atom, such as a proton, electron, or gluon.

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subatomic particle Scientific  

/ sŭb′ə-tŏm′ĭk /

1. Any of various particles of matter that are smaller than a hydrogen atom. Protons, neutrons, and electrons are subatomic particles, as are all hadrons and leptons.

2. See also composite particle elementary particle

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Example Sentences

At 2.4 x 1020eV, the energy of this single subatomic particle is equivalent to dropping a brick on your toe from waist height.

From Science Daily • Nov. 23, 2023

The largest scientific project in Antarctica, ICECUBE, attempts to quantify and trace an unfathomably small subatomic particle — the neutrino.

From Salon • May 29, 2023

Through what’s called beta-minus decay, a neutron will transform into a proton, spitting out an electron and another subatomic particle called a neutrino in the process.

From Scientific American • Jan. 9, 2023

Take the muon, a subatomic particle that became briefly famous last year.

From New York Times • Jun. 13, 2022

Improbably he wondered if the neutron–the subatomic particle that had just been discovered in England by James Chadwick, and was thus both novel and rather fashionable–might be at the heart of things.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson