baryon

—baryonic /bar'ee on"ik/, adj.

/bar"ee on'/, n. Physics.

a proton, neutron, or any elementary particle that decays into a set of particles that includes a proton. Cf. quark model.

[1950-55; < Gk barý(s) heavy + (FERMI)ON]

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Any member of one of two classes of hadrons.

Baryons are heavy subatomic particles made up of three quarks. They are characterized by a baryon number, B, of 1, and have half-integer spin values. Their antiparticles (see antimatter), called antibaryons, have a baryon number of -1. Both protons and neutrons are baryons.

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▪ subatomic particle

      any member of one of two classes of hadrons (particles built from quarks (quark) and thus experiencing the strong nuclear force). Baryons are heavy subatomic particles that are made up of three quarks. Both protons and neutrons, as well as other particles, are baryons. (The other class of hadronic particle is built from a quark and an antiquark and is called a meson.)

      Baryons are characterized by a baryon number, B, of 1. Their antiparticles, called antibaryons, have a baryon number of −1. An atom containing, for example, one proton and one neutron (each with a baryon number of 1) has a baryon number of 2. In addition to their differences in composition, baryons and mesons can be distinguished from one another by spin: the three quarks that make up a baryon can only produce half-integer values, while meson spins always add up to integer values.

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