kaon

Etymology

From contracted pronunciation of K-meson.

noun

  1. (physics) any of four unstable subatomic particles, mesons, they are a combination of a strange quark or antiquark and either an up or down quark or antiquark
    K⁰: strange quark + down antiquark
    K (antiparticle of K⁰): down quark + strange antiquark
    K⁺: strange quark + up antiquark
    K⁻ (antiparticle of K⁺): up quark + strange antiquark

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