quantum chromodynamics
noun, plural in form but singular or plural in constructionDefinition of quantum chromodynamics
: a theory of fundamental particles based on the assumption that quarks are distinguished by differences in color (see color entry 1 sense 15) and are held together (as in hadrons) by an exchange of gluons
Quantum chromodynamics equations describe the characteristics and behavior of quarks and the peculiar force that binds different quarks and antiquarks together to create protons, neutrons, and other subatomic particles known as hadrons.— I. Peterson
Examples of quantum chromodynamics in a Sentence
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The theory of quarks and the strong nuclear force that binds them, quantum chromodynamics (QCD), is so unwieldy that theorists cannot calculate the effects through the usual series of ever smaller approximations.
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Adrian Cho, Science | AAAS, 14 Apr. 2021
Then came the connection to the best current description of the strong nuclear force with the development of quantum chromodynamics (QCD).
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Priyamvada Natarajan, WSJ, 9 Apr. 2021
One way is via lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD), a technique that relies on massive computational power to numerically solve the effects of the virtual particles on muons.
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Daniel Garisto, Scientific American, 7 Apr. 2021
The results began to make more sense as physicists worked out the true theory that the quark model only approximates: quantum chromodynamics, or QCD.
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Quanta Magazine, 24 Feb. 2021
In 2004 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics, with two other scientists, for his contribution to quantum chromodynamics—a theory about the strong interaction between certain subatomic particles.
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Christopher Levenick, WSJ, 20 Jan. 2021
If the muon and electron don't behave equivalently, then quantum chromodynamics, a major theory in physics, is irretrievably broken in some way.
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John Timmer, Ars Technica, 2 Dec. 2020
So, the work is an important landmark in terms of finding ways to up the precision of the results, and the outcome suggests that quantum chromodynamics is probably fine.
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John Timmer, Ars Technica, 2 Dec. 2020
But their theory of the strong force, quantum chromodynamics, didn’t behave in the usual way, and neither did the particles.
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Quanta Magazine, 6 May 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'quantum chromodynamics.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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23 Apr 2021
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“Quantum chromodynamics.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quantum%20chromodynamics. Accessed 15 Jun. 2021.
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