composite particle

A subatomic particle that is composed of two or more elementary particles. The protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom are composite particles, as they are composed of quarks; electrons orbiting the nucleus are not composite particles.
See also elementary particle subatomic particle

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Example Sentences

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Some scientists are excited about the idea that dark matter may be a composite particle—a conglomerate of “dark quarks” and “dark gluons” that stick together just like regular quarks and gluons to create “dark nuclei.”

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Pionic helium is here: a helium atom in which one of the two electrons has been replaced by a negative pion, a composite particle made of one quark and one antiquark.

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Instead, they argue it could be a composite particle made up of two even smaller techni-quarks, bound by a theoretical “Technicolor” force.

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composite number composite photograph

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