BRAINCAKELeptons
Leptons are particles and antiparticles that do not interact through the strong interaction
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Key terms in this lesson
- Strong nuclear force
- The short-range attractive force between nucleons that overcomes the electrostatic repulsion between protons and holds the nucleus together, becoming repulsive at very short separations.
- Antiparticle
- A particle with the same rest mass as its corresponding particle but with opposite charge and opposite values of other quantum properties.
- Weak nuclear force
- The fundamental interaction responsible for beta decay, in which particles interact through the exchange of W bosons.
- Muon
- A negatively charged lepton, similar to but much heavier than the electron, produced for example by cosmic rays in the atmosphere.
- Neutrino
- An uncharged, almost massless lepton that interacts only very weakly with matter and is emitted, along with a beta particle, in beta decay.
More in Quarks and Leptons
- Pions
- Kaons
- Particle Accelerators
- Classifying Particles and Antiparticles
- Hadrons
- Particle Colliders and Energy
- Baryons and Mesons
- Lepton Collisions
All 17 lessons in Quarks and Leptons · All AQA AS-level Physics topics