pair production

pair production

n.

The simultaneous creation of a subatomic particle and its antiparticle from another form of energy, especially the production of a positron and an electron from a gamma ray photon in a strong electric field, such as that surrounding a nucleus.

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pair production  (pâr)

The simultaneous creation of a subatomic particle and its antiparticle from some other particle or a field fluctuation. A high-energy gamma ray photon, for example, can spontaneously create an electron-positron pair in a strong electric field. Pair production is essential to theories of particle physics; pair production from gamma rays is used to detect such rays in pair production telescopes, since electrons and positrons are easily detected.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

pair production - the transformation of a gamma-ray photon into an electron and a positron when the photon passes close to an atomic nucleus pair creation, pair formation natural action, natural process, action, activity - a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings); "the action of natural forces"; "volcanic activity"