Fundamental particles

Abstract

Abstract The history of elementary particle physics is echoed in the names coined for these particles, including those which did not catch on and are now obsolete. ‘Meson’ lived on, ‘mesotron’ did not. ‘Oreston’ died almost instantly. Starting with the electron and the positron, the chapter ends with the modern era with quarks and gluons as the fundamental particles. While particle names were traditionally based on Greek, after World War II most new particles were given freely invented and often whimsical names. Examples are not only quark and gluon, but also hypothetical particles such as sneutrino, higgsino, and anyon.