strange particle: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples

No. A strange particle contains at least one strange quark but is otherwise a conventional meson or baryon (e.g., kaon, lambda). An exotic particle has a structure not fitting the standard quark model, like a tetraquark or pentaquark, which may or may not contain strange quarks.

Historically, in the 1940s-50s, these particles were found in cosmic rays. They were produced frequently (suggesting strong interaction) but decayed much more slowly (suggesting weak interaction), which was a 'strange' contradiction. This led to the discovery of a new quantum number, strangeness.

Not in stable, ordinary matter. They are produced transiently in high-energy collisions (e.g., in cosmic rays, particle accelerators, or certain nuclear reactions) and decay via the weak force on timescales typically around 10^-10 to 10^-8 seconds.

A strange quark is a fundamental particle, one of the six flavours of quarks. A strange particle is a composite hadron (like a proton, but made of different quarks) that contains one or more strange quarks or anti-quarks, giving the whole particle a net strangeness.

A subatomic particle that contains at least one strange quark (s-quark), characterized by the quantum property of strangeness, which is conserved in strong and electromagnetic interactions but not in weak interactions.

Strange particle is usually technical/scientific in register.

Strange particle: in British English it is pronounced /streɪndʒ ˈpɑːtɪk(ə)l/, and in American English it is pronounced /streɪndʒ ˈpɑːrtɪk(ə)l/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.