down quark

noun

, Physics.

the quark having electric charge −1/3 times the elementary charge, with strangeness, charm, and other quark quantum numbers equal to 0.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of down quark¹

First recorded in 1975–80

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Example Sentences

With at least one in every kind of element, it’s made up of two up quarks and a down quark that dance around each other in a tightly bound orbit maintained by exchanging gluons.

From Nautilus

Left-handed up and down quarks can transform into each other, via an interaction called the weak force.

From Quanta Magazine

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