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positron Definition

☆ posi·tron (päz′i trän′)

noun

Particle Physics a positively charged lepton with the same mass and magnitude of charge as the electron; the antiparticle of an electron

Etymology: posi(tive) + (elec)tron

positron Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • emit: Beta particle An electron or a positron emitted from the nucleus of an atom during radioactive decay.
  • call: The electric charge may be positive, in which case the beta particle is called a positron.
  • produce: So we have certain atoms that fall apart and produce positrons, which are promptly annihilated by the first electron they meet.
  • discover: It was in observing cosmic rays that Anderson discovered the positron in 1932.
  • create: There they would occasionally strike a proton, creating a positron and a neutron.

Adjective modifier

  • cold: The next stage is to mix them with about 75 million cold positrons.
  • trapped: At a temperature of 4.2 K, the trapped positrons are an ultracold plasma, a frigid collection of charged particles.
  • short-lived: The possibility of using ultra-intense lasers to produce commercial amounts of short-lived positron emitting sources for positron emission tomography ( PET ) is discussed.

Modifies a noun

  • tomography: Using positron emission tomography, we examined cerebral blood flow changes in human subjects whilst engaged in the visual processing of face stimuli.
  • emitter: Such radioactive forms of elements are known as " positron emitters " .
  • annihilation: Methods of NDT include radiography, ultrasonic testing and positron annihilation.
  • emission: Using positron emission tomography, we examined cerebral blood flow changes in human subjects whilst engaged in the visual processing of face stimuli.
  • beam: Restrictions: In the program the positron beam is chosen to be scattered over a large angle.
  • particle: The advent of positron emission particle tracking ( PEPT ) has now made this possible.

Noun used with modifier

  • electron: The key is that electron positron annihilation produces not one but two gamma rays.
  • electron-: For the research to be practical, the B's must first be produced in large numbers in electron- positron collisions.
  • energy: The techniques used to produce beams of low energy positrons can also be adapted to create beams of low energy muons.