Top Quark (Noun)
Meaning
A hypothetical quark with a charge of +2/3 and a mass more than 100,000 times that of an electron.
Classification
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made).
Examples
- The top quark is one of the heaviest known subatomic particles, and its existence was confirmed by particle physicists in the 1990s.
- Scientists believe that the top quark is too massive to be found freely in nature and instead can only be created artificially.
- In 1995, the top quark was finally discovered at the Tevatron particle accelerator after nearly two decades of searching.
- Physicists study the top quark because it has the highest mass of all the known quarks, with a value over 35 times that of the bottom quark.
- Research into the top quark is an active area of particle physics and could help us better understand the fundamental forces that govern the universe.