positron
an elementary particle having the same mass and spin as an electron but having a positive charge equal in magnitude to that of the electron's negative charge; the antiparticle of the electron.
Origin of positron
1- Also called antielectron, positive electron.
Words Nearby positron
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use positron in a sentence
Even humble bananas emit positrons, the electron’s antimatter counterpart.
How particle detectors capture matter’s hidden, beautiful reality | Emily Conover | August 5, 2021 | Science NewsWhere electrons have negative electric charge, positrons have positive charge.
Stars made of antimatter could lurk in our galaxy | Maria Temming | May 31, 2021 | Science News For StudentsThe neutron and positron were both found in laboratories that are small in comparison with today’s, and each discovery was attributed to a single physicist, relatively soon after the particles had been proposed.
How matter’s hidden complexity unleashed the power of nuclear physics | Emily Conover | April 8, 2021 | Science NewsIn the 1930s, antimatter was such a leap that Dirac’s hesitation to propose the positron was understandable.
How matter’s hidden complexity unleashed the power of nuclear physics | Emily Conover | April 8, 2021 | Science NewsPhysicists also resisted the positron, until it became difficult to ignore.
How matter’s hidden complexity unleashed the power of nuclear physics | Emily Conover | April 8, 2021 | Science News
The uncertainty in the positron counts are huge at the high energy end of the AMS-02 results.
Still No Dark Matter from Space Station Experiment | Matthew R. Francis | September 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn fact, the data seem to show positron counts leveling off at high energy, but things are still pretty messy.
Still No Dark Matter from Space Station Experiment | Matthew R. Francis | September 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhen the gamma rays enter the sleeve, they interact with that photon gas, annihilating into electron-positron pairs.
Another highly regarded method was PET, or positron emission tomography.
These units are the positron, the negatron, and the neutron.
Cube Root of Conquest | Roger Phillips GrahamThe design of the electron brain had completely ignored the polarity of the positron.
Joy Ride | Mark MeadowsAs I am the only scholar in my field—the polarity of the positron—I have never been asked for information.
Joy Ride | Mark Meadows
British Dictionary definitions for positron
/ (ˈpɒzɪˌtrɒn) /
physics the antiparticle of the electron, having the same mass but an equal and opposite charge. It is produced in certain decay processes and in pair production, annihilation occurring when it collides with an electron
Origin of positron
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for positron
[ pŏz′ĭ-trŏn′ ]
The antiparticle that corresponds to an electron. Also called antielectron
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for positron
[ (poz-i-tron) ]
The antiparticle for an electron; it has the same mass as an electron, but carries a positive charge.
Notes for positron
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse