boson

Meaning

A particle with totally symmetric composite quantum states, which exempts them from the Pauli exclusion principle, and that hence obeys Bose-Einstein statistics. They have integer spin. Among them are many elementary particles, and some (gauge bosons) are known to carry the fundamental forces. Compare fermion.

Synonyms

bird-bolt

birdbolt

Translations

boson

bosone

Boson

bosón

bóson

μποζόνιο

bosó

bozon

boson

bosão

boson

بوزون

bolzone

handboog pijl

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbəʊ.zɒn/

Etymology

From Bose + -on. Named after Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose (1894–1974); coined by English physicist Paul Dirac in 1945 in a lecture titled "Developments in Atomic Theory".