W particle

noun

, Physics.

1. either of two types of charged intermediate vector bosons, one having a positive charge and the other a negative charge. : W + , W −

W particle

noun

1. physics a type of elementary particle with either a positive or negative charge considered to transmit the weak interaction between other elementary particles. W particles have a rest mass of 1.435 × 10 ^–25kg Also calledW boson See also Z particle

W particle

1. See W boson

Word History and Origins

Origin of W particle¹

First recorded in 1970–75; apparently for weak

Example Sentences

At times, the narratives feel disjointed and bogged down in arcane details and enigmatic concepts, for example, in a passage where Bobby discusses the theories of the physicist Steven Weinberg: “Still he figured that if you had these neutrino-nucleon collisions that spun off the W particle and gave you a lepton with the opposite charge you’d have to get a Z particle every once in a while. And since the Z carried no charge this meant that the neutrino coming in would stay a neutrino.”

From New York Times

That would also include studies of the W particle and bottom quark, which would also be produced in profusion.

From Scientific American

The W particle will then decay in a characteristic way, leaving an unambiguous record of the neutrino’s passage.

From Economist

The detection of the W particle is an example of extraordinary scientific sleuthing, comparable to finding a missing person in a crowd of a billion people.

From Time Magazine Archive

Using one of the world's most powerful atom smashers, Italy's Carlo Rubbia, 48, and his team of 134 European and American scientists appear to have snared a trophy that has been the dream of physicists for two generations: discovery of the so-called W particle, the elusive carrier of one of the universe's basic forces.

From Time Magazine Archive