fermion (redirected from Fermions)

fer·mi·on  (fûrm-n, fr-)

n.

A particle, such as an electron, proton, or neutron, having half-integral spin and obeying statistical rules requiring that not more than one in a set of identical particles may occupy a particular quantum state.

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[After Enrico Fermi.]

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fermion  (fûrm-n, fr-)

An elementary or composite particle, such as an electron, quark, or proton, whose spin is an integer multiple of ¹/₂ . Fermions act on each other by exchanging bosons and are subject to the Pauli exclusion principle, which requires that no two fermions be in the same quantum state. Fermions are named after the physicist Enrico Fermi, who along with Paul Dirac developed quantum statistical models of their behavior. Compare boson.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

fermion - any particle that obeys Fermi-Dirac statistics and is subject to the Pauli exclusion principle baryon, heavy particle - any of the elementary particles having a mass equal to or greater than that of a proton and that participate in strong interactions; a hadron with a baryon number of +1 lepton - an elementary particle that participates in weak interactions; has a baryon number of 0 subatomic particle, particle - a body having finite mass and internal structure but negligible dimensions