: a meson that is a combination of up and down quarks and antiquarks, that may be positive, negative, or neutral, and that has a mass about 270 times that of the electron
Examples of pion in a Sentence
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They are created when protons and neutrons collide, which generates particles known as pions that then decay into muons.
—
IEEE Spectrum, 3 Dec. 2024
The pion theory also outlawed precisely the same collisions.
—Charlie Wood, WIRED, 3 Nov. 2024
This meddling is what allows the kaon to produce a pion and two neutrinos, the process NA62 seeks.
—Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2024
Any leakage is carried by the color-neutral pion and kindred mesons.
—Aaron Shattuck, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2024
Above, the top picture (from a later experiment) shows an example of the antiproton (the pale blue streak) annihilating a proton and creating positive and negative particles known as pions (respectively, the red and green lines).
—Discover Magazine, 1 Sep. 2010
Beams of energy collide with atoms in Earth’s upper atmosphere, spawning charged subatomic particles like pions, muons, electrons, and positrons, whose ionized trails show up as spindly lines in cloud chambers.
—Bill Gourgey, Popular Science, 23 Nov. 2023
Instead, at these scales, a new effective force emerges—the strong nuclear force, transmitted between nucleons by the exchange of pions.
—WIRED, 10 Aug. 2023
The positive pion can interfere with other positive pions caused by other atomic flybys.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 11 Jan. 2023
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IEEE Spectrum, 3 Dec. 2024
The pion theory also outlawed precisely the same collisions.
—Charlie Wood, WIRED, 3 Nov. 2024
This meddling is what allows the kaon to produce a pion and two neutrinos, the process NA62 seeks.
—Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2024
Any leakage is carried by the color-neutral pion and kindred mesons.
—Aaron Shattuck, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2024
Above, the top picture (from a later experiment) shows an example of the antiproton (the pale blue streak) annihilating a proton and creating positive and negative particles known as pions (respectively, the red and green lines).
—Discover Magazine, 1 Sep. 2010
Beams of energy collide with atoms in Earth’s upper atmosphere, spawning charged subatomic particles like pions, muons, electrons, and positrons, whose ionized trails show up as spindly lines in cloud chambers.
—Bill Gourgey, Popular Science, 23 Nov. 2023
Instead, at these scales, a new effective force emerges—the strong nuclear force, transmitted between nucleons by the exchange of pions.
—WIRED, 10 Aug. 2023
The positive pion can interfere with other positive pions caused by other atomic flybys.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 11 Jan. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Pion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pion. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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