lepton

lepton
lepton1
/lep"ton/, n., pl. lepta /-teuh/.
1. an aluminum coin of modern Greece, the 100th part of a drachma.
2. a small copper or bronze coin of ancient Greece.
[1715-25; < Gk leptón (nómisma) a small (coin), n. use of neut. of leptós small; see LEPTO-]
lepton2
—leptonic, adj.
/lep"ton/, n. Physics.
any of a class of particles with spin of 1/2 that are not subject to the strong force and that are believed to be truly elementary and not composed of quarks or other subunits. The leptons known or believed to exist are the electron and electron-neutrino, the muon and mu-neutrino, and the tau lepton and tau-neutrino. Cf. conservation of lepton number.
[1948; < Gk, neut. of leptós small, slight; see LEPTO-, -ON1]

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Any member of a class of fermions that respond only to electromagnetic, weak, and gravitational forces and do not take part in strong interactions.

Leptons have a half-integral spin and obey the Pauli exclusion principle. They can either carry one unit of electric charge or be neutral. The charged leptons are the electrons, muons, and taus. Each has a negative charge and a distinct mass. Each charged lepton has an associated neutral partner, or neutrino, which has no electric charge and very little if any mass.

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      any member of a class of subatomic particles (subatomic particle) that respond only to the electromagnetic force (electromagnetism), weak force, and gravitational force (gravitation) and are not affected by the strong force. Leptons are said to be elementary particles; that is, they do not appear to be made up of smaller units of matter. Leptons can either carry one unit of electric charge or be neutral. The charged leptons are the electrons (electron), muons (muon), and taus (tau). Each of these types has a negative charge and a distinct mass. Electrons, the lightest leptons, have a mass only 1/1,840 that of a proton. Muons are heavier, having more than 200 times as much mass as electrons. Taus (tau), in turn, are approximately 3,700 times more massive than electrons. Each charged lepton has an associated neutral partner, or neutrino (i.e., electron-, muon-, and tau-neutrino), that has no electric charge and no significant mass. Moreover, all leptons, including the neutrinos, have antiparticles (antiparticle) called antileptons. The mass of the antileptons is identical to that of the leptons, but all of the other properties are reversed.

      A third characteristic feature of leptons, in addition to their charge and mass properties, is their intrinsic angular momentum, or spin. Leptons are classified within a larger group of subatomic particles, the fermions (fermion), which are characterized by half-integer values of their spin. The total number of leptons appears to remain the same in every particle reaction. Mathematically, total lepton number L (the number of leptons minus the number of antileptons) is constant. In addition, a conservation law for leptons of each type seems to hold; the number of electrons and electron-neutrinos, for example, is conserved separately from the number of muons and muon-neutrinos. The current limit of violation of this conservation law is one part per million.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • lepton — [ lɛptɔ̃ ] n. m. • v. 1962; en angl. (1948); du gr. leptos « mince » et (électr )on ♦ Phys. Particule élémentaire légère (électron, muon, neutrino, etc.) qui ne subit pas d interactions fortes (contrairement à l hadron). Quarks et leptons. Adj.… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • lepton — LEPTÓN, leptoni, s.m. (fiz.) Particulă elementară cu masa de repaus mai mică decât cea a unui nucleon. – Din fr. lepton. Trimis de LauraGellner, 19.05.2004. Sursa: DEX 98  leptón (fiz.) s. m., pl. leptóni Trimis de siveco, 10.08.2004. Sursa:… …   Dicționar Român

  • Leptón — leptón. m. Fís. Partícula elemental; fermión de los más ligeros, como el electrón, el muon, sus neutrinos y las correspondientes antipartículas. * * * Un leptón es un fermión fundamental sin carga hadrónica o de color. Existen seis leptones y sus …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • lepton — n. (Physics) an elementary particle that participates in weak interactions but does not participate in the strong interaction; it has a baryon number of 0. Some known leptons are the {electron}, the {negative muon}, the {tau minus particle}, and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • lépton — s. m. [Física] Partícula elementar que interage com outras através de interações fracas. • [Brasil] Plural: léptones ou léptons.   ‣ Etimologia: inglês lepton   ♦ Grafia em Portugal: leptão …   Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa

  • Lepton — (gr.), 1) (Ant.), die kleinste Kupfermünze bei den alten Griechen, = 1/7 Chalkos, etwa 1/5 Pfennig; Luther übersetzt es im N. T. mit Scherf; 2) neugriechische Kupfermünze (100 auf 1 Drachme), 10 Lepta = 7,2 sächs. Pfennige …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Lepton — Lepton, das kleinste altgriech. Gewicht von 10 mg, 56 im Obolus, auch kleinste Kupfermünze der äginetischen Währung. Ferner neugriechische Kupfermünze von 1,299 g Gewicht, 100 in der Drachme …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Leptón — Leptón, altgriech. Kupfermünze = etwa 1/5 Pf; neugriech. Scheidemünze = 1/100 Drachme (Frank), in Kupfer zu 1, 2, 5, 10, in Nickel zu 5, 10 und 20 Leptá …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • LEPTON — Graece λεπτὸν, minutioris monetae genus. Ita enim Hesych. in λεπτὰ, νούμμους, κοδράντας, ἀςςάρια dividit τάλαντον, i. e. solidum. Et quidem λεπτὸν, apud Lucam, ὀβολὸν interpretatur Chrysostomus c. 22. Hesych. idem esse quod κοδράντης, ἤ τὸ… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • lepton — elementary particle of small mass, 1948, from Gk. leptos small, slight, slender, delicate (from lepein to peel, from PIE *lep ; see LEPER (Cf. leper)) + ON (Cf. on). Also the name of a small coin in ancient Greece, from neuter of leptos …   Etymology dictionary

  • leptón — m. Fís. Partícula elemental; fermión de los más ligeros, como el electrón, el muon, sus neutrinos y las correspondientes antipartículas …   Diccionario de la lengua española

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