Nearby Words

photons

[foh-ton] Origin

pho·ton

[foh-ton]
noun
a quantum of electromagnetic radiation, usually considered as an elementary particle that is its own antiparticle and that has zero rest mass and charge and a spin of one. Symbol: γ
Also called light quantum.


Origin:
1900–05; phot- + -on1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Photons is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

photon
"unit of electromagnetic radiation," 1926, from photo- "light" + on "unit."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

photon pho·ton (fō'tŏn')
n.
The quantum of electromagnetic energy, generally regarded as a discrete particle having zero mass, no electric charge, and an indefinitely long lifetime.


pho·ton'ic adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
photon   (fō'tŏn')  Pronunciation Key 
The subatomic particle that carries the electromagnetic force and is the quantum of electromagnetic radiation. The photon has a rest mass of zero, but has measurable momentum, exhibits deflection by a gravitational field, and can exert a force. It has no electric charge, has an indefinitely long lifetime, and is its own antiparticle. See Note at electromagnetic radiation. See Table at subatomic particle.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
photon [(foh-ton)]

The quantum, or bundle of energy, in which light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation are emitted. (See atom.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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