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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
particle
noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a particle of dust/a dust particle (=a small piece of dust)
▪ The air is full of dust particles.
a particle of dust/a dust particle (=a small piece of dust)
▪ The air is full of dust particles.
alpha particle
beta particle
elementary particle
particle accelerator
particle physics
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
atomic
▪ Like atomic particles, emotions have half-lives.
▪ We are continuously bombarded by cosmic rays, atomic particles ejected by distant stellar catastrophes.
different
▪ Matter is constructed from very different particle species and the proportions of these vary from material to material.
▪ We shall see how it is that different particles of the same type can not have separate identities from one another.
elementary
▪ However, I think that this ought to include a revision of the names of all the elementary particles.
▪ According to quantum theory, elementary particles do not really exist until an intelligent observer measures them.
▪ Quantum mechanics depicts space as a seething foam of uncertainty, with unimaginably short-lived elementary particles appearing and disappear ing.
▪ At any one moment, there is a definite and finite set of possible futures for elementary particles.
▪ So the question is: What are the truly elementary particles, the basic building blocks from which everything is made?
▪ The elementary particles known as protons, which live at the heart of every atom, will begin to decay.
▪ Research in theory and computation encompasses quantum field theories of elementary particles, neural networks and quantum chromodynamics.
▪ How powerful this explosion would be would depend on how many different species of elementary particles there are.
fine
▪ The aliquots are withdrawn from specified depths at the time intervals shown for a full analysis of the fine particle content.
▪ Thus the higher values on the cumulative percentage by weight plot occur in the range characterized by the finer particles.
▪ Size analysis of fine particles therefore presents problems, for the pre-analytical preparations may largely determine the ultimate results obtained.
▪ Dispersion: This is the ability of a detergent to break up a body of dirt into fine particles.
▪ The larger the particle phi number the finer the particle.
▪ Clay soils, composed of very fine particles, have a much higher affinity for water than silty soils.
▪ In all these ways the surface has been broken into fine particles.
▪ The finer the food particles, the easier it is to digest.
fundamental
▪ Each family contains four siblings: two fundamental particles known as quarks and two known as leptons.
▪ Quarks are thought to be the fundamental particles from which matter, such as protons, is built.
▪ The fundamental particles of which matter is made are arranged in generations.
▪ In the same way that matter is constituted of fundamental particles, antiparticles are the building blocks of antimatter.
▪ It is doubtless true that at bottom the behaviour of a motor car is to be explained in terms of interactions between fundamental particles.
▪ The boundaries of physics constantly change as new discoveries are made, e.g. the discovery of new fundamental particles.
▪ Their layered form increases the photocell's efficiency in capturing photons, the fundamental particles of which light is made.
individual
▪ In the first frame, individual dark particles of the sandwich show clearly in the fundus and body.
▪ But I tell you that it is a doubling in the energy of each individual photon-each particle of light-that is emitted.
▪ However, the theory gives no insight into how we are to understand the behaviour of individual particles.
▪ It is not concerned with the motions, forces and interactions of individual particles.
large
▪ Ore from underground is crushed and ground to remove the larger particles.
▪ Many larger particles are also formed.
▪ Use a toothpick after meals to remove large food particles that may have become lodged.
▪ The strongest currents should define the largest stable particle size.
▪ Quarks bind together to make up larger particles such as the protons and neutrons found in the atomic nucleus.
▪ The study of the energy relationships and the statistical behaviour of large groups of particles is called statistical thermodynamics.
▪ First, we can not solve the equations for the very large number of particles involved.
▪ The larger the particle phi number the finer the particle.
minute
▪ The minute particles in the rock have been flattened with the result that the slate splits easily into thin sheets.
▪ Homogenized milk has been mechanically treated to break fat globules into minute particles and disperse them throughout the milk.
▪ The seed contains all the parts of the body - flesh, bone and so on - in minute particles.
▪ When the pools dry, the rotifers turn into minute particles of dust, wrinkled and desiccated, awaiting the next rainfall.
other
▪ The finings attract yeast and other particles and begin to drag them to the bottom of the tank.
▪ The bubbles condense into droplets which attach to salt crystals and other particles in the atmosphere and eventually form clouds.
▪ There are three generations of neutrino just as there are of every other particle.
▪ It was expected that a similar equation would govern the proton, the only other supposedly elementary particle known at that time.
single
▪ We have learnt that, according to quantum mechanics, even a single particle must behave like a wave all by itself.
▪ Let us try to think of a single quantum particle.
▪ The formalism of quantum mechanics makes no distinction, in this respect, between single particles and complicated systems of many particles.
▪ Thus, the trick is not even to try even in the case of the phase space for a single particle.
▪ An infinite-dimensional Hilbert space arises even in the simple situation of the location of a single particle.
small
▪ On this argument the graptolites should have been bottom dwelling-colonial organisms, living by filtering small particles of food from the water.
▪ Achieving efficient liberation of the smallest grains requires crushing them to a very small particle size.
▪ The coral skeleton is ground into small particles, but can not be digested.
▪ Furthermore the smaller particle size would reduce the collisions with the heater banks and reduce the slagging.
▪ Live food is the best diet for them although fresh or frozen meaty foods of small particle size can be substituted.
▪ Simplesse is composed of small protein particles that mimic the texture of fat.
▪ Even the smallest particles of diamond are revealed by their brilliant green emission.
▪ May these, as we go to still higher energies, in turn be found to be made from still smaller particles?
subatomic
▪ It investigates phenomena which range in size from subatomic particles to the universe itself.
▪ The quantum level is the level of molecules, atoms, subatomic particles, etc.
▪ To take a simple example, the important subatomic particle called the electron has a negative electrical charge.
▪ The B mesons can now be assured of a place in the tables of known subatomic particles.
tiny
▪ Into scrapie-affected cells they introduced tiny gold particles tethered to a protein that sticks to working ubiquitin.
▪ With the tunnel open, you notice thousands of tiny particles surging through the breach.
▪ They feed by collecting tiny particles from the water.
▪ When you cough or sneeze, you propel some tiny particles into the air.
▪ Those tiny events and particles mould the Universe as a whole.
▪ Mixed in with the global iridium-bearing clay layer are tiny particles of heavily shocked quartz.
▪ When lava solidifies, its tiny ferrous particles align themselves, like magnetic needles, with the earth's magnetic field.
▪ It is well known from many experiments that electrons are tiny, indivisible particles.
virtual
▪ The virtual particle can interact with the magnetic field and affect the moment of the muon.
▪ Again, the photons that are exchanged are virtual particles.
▪ The suggestion is that the whole of the Universe is filled with virtual particles.
▪ Experiments have shown that these virtual particles are indeed present, although we can not detect them directly.
■ NOUN
accelerator
▪ We shall not bridge that gap with particle accelerators in the foreseeable future!
▪ It has come from experiments with high-energy muon neutrino beams at particle accelerators, and from lower-energy neutrinos at two nuclear reactors.
▪ There are no antiprotons or antineutrons, made up from antiquarks, except for a few that physicists produce in large particle accelerators.
▪ The radiation is a by-product of particle accelerators use in high-energy physics.
▪ As a consequence, only laboratories with immediate access to particle accelerators can carry out this sort of work.
▪ A particle accelerator can cost up to f500,000.
▪ If you really want to be devious, you could spend the money on a particle accelerator.
▪ For many years now builders of particle accelerators have also studied particle beams.
alpha
▪ The radiation emitted by these isotopes consists of alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma rays.
▪ Helium is also made by radioactive decay of uranium and thorium, both of which decay by emission of alpha particles.
▪ Fresh soil samples, taken recently in the presence of journalists, are currently being investigated for gamma rays and alpha particles.
▪ The helium atom without its electrons is known as an alpha particle, and is therefore positively charged.
▪ Radium is readily absorbed into the body where it concentrates in the bone marrow and gives off very damaging alpha particles.
clay
▪ When clay particles are in a random arrangement the clay is more likely to crack or warp.
▪ RNA-like molecules, because of their negatively charged backbones, would tend to coat the outsides of clay particles.
▪ A layer of clay particles placed under the gravel layer is beneficial.
▪ Otherwise a layer of clay particles under the usual fine gravel will suffice.
▪ Peat and clay particles and a layer of gravel is suitable.
▪ Rainsplash washes elements downslope and reduces infiltration capacity by dispersing clay particles into the large interstices of the soil.
dust
▪ It was a broken hulk, millennia of dust particles covering the displays and floors.
▪ I could see the tiny dust particles in front of my eyes.
▪ It occurs when dust particles high in the atmosphere filter out most of the longer wavelengths of red light.
▪ She also seemed very sensitive to the sunlight and the dust particles streaming into my office.
▪ The bomb blast fractured the ventilating system and spewed dust particles along the system throughout the hospital.
▪ About 30% of the Sun's energy hitting the Earth is reflected back into space by dust particles and cloud.
▪ The dust particles might be better at catching the wind, like fluff on a willow seed.
▪ Swirling dust particles caused him to sneeze and he looked down at the old books and papers with watery eyes.
food
▪ Use a toothpick after meals to remove large food particles that may have become lodged.
▪ Deglaze pan with wine, stirring with a wooden spoon to loosen food particles.
▪ As food particles are swept by, they are caught by the tentacles and passed by them down to the mouth.
▪ If necessary, wash it gently in some warm soapy water to remove dirt and food particles. 2.
▪ The finer the food particles, the easier it is to digest.
▪ After cooking, wash in warm, soapy water; soak in suds for longer periods to remove dried food particles.
▪ The more stubborn food particles can be removed by gentle scrubbing with wire wool.
▪ Some became active burrowers, tunnelling through the mud in search of food particles.
matter
▪ What happens is that a matter particle, such as an electron or a quark, emits a force-carrying particle.
▪ The recoil from this emission changes the velocity of the matter particle.
▪ The force-carrying particle then collides with another matter particle and is absorbed.
▪ This collision changes the velocity of the second particle, just as if there had been a force between the two matter particles.
▪ So for a sufficiently large number of matter particles, gravitational forces can dominate over all other forces.
▪ The uncertainty principle also predicts that there will be similar virtual pairs of matter particles, such as electrons or quarks.
▪ The matter particles obey what is called Pauli's exclusion principle.
physicist
▪ Rather than see this as a problem, the particle physicists see it as an opportunity.
▪ If basic math stumps you, there might not be a future for you as a particle physicist.
▪ It is this state that fascinates particle physicists.
▪ This dark matter is of special interest to the particle physicists.
▪ Not being a particle physicist, I shall leave the complete renaming process to people who are better qualified.
physics
▪ The particle physics is cutting-edge.
▪ The explanations were so arcane I would have made more headway with a textbook on particle physics.
▪ Recent developments in particle physics suggest that every nucleon may itself have a nucleus.
▪ New textbooks on nuclear and particle physics are thin on the ground.
▪ Such calculations also provide an insight into particle physics.
▪ Members of three such generations have been discovered; until recently there was no evidence from particle physics to rule out more.
▪ But the model isn't from magic but particle physics.
▪ In an attempt to get data from this natural laboratory, particle physics has become ever more entwined with cosmology.
size
▪ The focus of the book is entirely on the question of aerosol particle size analysis.
▪ Achieving efficient liberation of the smallest grains requires crushing them to a very small particle size.
▪ From the combined results Thomas's group estimated an average particle size of 100 for the copper metal aggregates.
▪ Furthermore the smaller particle size would reduce the collisions with the heater banks and reduce the slagging.
▪ The strongest currents should define the largest stable particle size.
▪ Hence, the particle size in samples and standards must be comparable.
▪ Total calibration against the full range of particle size combinations and particle shapes is impracticable.
▪ This corresponds to the fineness of face powder or an average particle size of about $ 0 microns.
virus
▪ When the blisters burst, they release virus particles that infect healthy animals.
▪ Before a virus particle is prepared for the electron microscope it must be made static.
▪ Virion: synonym for virus particle.
▪ For every virus particle cleared, however, at least one new one replaces it.
■ VERB
charge
▪ The parity-violation experiments, however, do not prove the existence of the charged W particles.
▪ Finally there is quantum electrodynamics, which is the quantum field theory of light and charged particles.
▪ The charged particles produced by flares can disrupt communications and present hazards to spacecraft and astronauts.
▪ Remember that we are considering a charged particle.
▪ Electrons, being charged particles, interact readily with electromagnetic radiation.
▪ Some think the diet changes the rate at which electrically charged particles called ions cross the lipid membranes of nerve cells.
▪ Neutral atoms enter this cloud rather than Io's torus because they are not influenced by magnetic forces whereas charged particles are.
▪ The principle of accelerating charged particles in such a manner is already well established on Earth.
contain
▪ However, if the solvent contains dissolved solute particles the escape of the solvent particles from the surface is hindered.
▪ It contains tiny soot particles linked to several health problems.
▪ Fine clays, which have greatest green strength, also shrink more than clays containing coarser particles.
▪ All three canals and the sac have very sensitive linings and contain small limy particles which move and vibrate.
▪ Dust is abrasive and may contain metallic particles.
▪ There can be baby universes that contain only a few particles.
emit
▪ What happens is that a matter particle, such as an electron or a quark, emits a force-carrying particle.
▪ As the emitted particles are absorbed by the surrounding matter, their energy of motion is transformed into heat.
produce
▪ One of the quarks and one of the antiquarks meet and, in a process called annihilation, produce a W particle.
▪ There are no antiprotons or antineutrons, made up from antiquarks, except for a few that physicists produce in large particle accelerators.
remove
▪ Ore from underground is crushed and ground to remove the larger particles.
▪ He pressed his thumb against the wall and removed a dry particle of reptile spine from its cool surface.
▪ Use a toothpick after meals to remove large food particles that may have become lodged.
▪ Air purifiers actually remove odours and particles from the air through a series of filters.
▪ If necessary, wash it gently in some warm soapy water to remove dirt and food particles. 2.
▪ After cooking, wash in warm, soapy water; soak in suds for longer periods to remove dried food particles.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ subatomic particles such as protons
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ As the emitted particles are absorbed by the surrounding matter, their energy of motion is transformed into heat.
▪ His conclusion was that one particle might survive for every 10,000 billion that started.
▪ If a cloud forms then it will deplete the atmosphere above it of the substances of which the cloud particles are made.
▪ If basic math stumps you, there might not be a future for you as a particle physicist.
▪ Notice that this decay does not involve particles like protons.
▪ Sedimenting particles in the horizontal-head centrifuge must travel the entire length of the liquid in the tube.
▪ The accelerations of these particles are determined by the forces which act upon them.
▪ The Cambridge professor's brain dances around such sub-atomic particles as leptons and anti-quarks and the possibility of infinitely curved space-time.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Particle

Particle \Par"ti*cle\, n. [L. particula, dim. of pars, gen partis, a part: cf. F. particule. See Part, and cf. Parcel.]

  1. A minute part or portion of matter; a morsel; a little bit; an atom; a jot; as, a particle of sand, of wood, of dust.

    The small size of atoms which unite To make the smallest particle of light.
    --Blackmore.

  2. Any very small portion or part; the smallest portion; as, he has not a particle of patriotism or virtue.

    The houses had not given their commissioners authority in the least particle to recede.
    --Clarendon.

  3. (R. C. Ch.)

    1. A crumb or little piece of consecrated host.

    2. The smaller hosts distributed in the communion of the laity.
      --Bp. Fitzpatrick.

  4. (Gram.) A subordinate word that is never inflected (a preposition, conjunction, interjection); or a word that can not be used except in compositions; as, ward in backward, ly in lovely.

    4. (Physics) An elementary particle.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
particle

late 14c., "small part or division of a whole, minute portion of matter," from Latin particula "little bit or part, grain, jot," diminutive of pars (genitive partis) "part;" see part (n.). Particle physics attested from 1969. In construction, particle board (1957) is so called because it is made from chips and shavings of wood.

Wiktionary
particle

n. 1 A very small piece of matter, a fragment; especially, the smallest possible part of something. (from 14th c.) 2 (context linguistics sensu lato English) A part of speech which can not be inflected, an adverb, preposition, conjunction or interjection 3 (context linguistics sensu stricto English) A word that has a particular grammatical function but does not obviously belong to any particular part of speech, such as the word ''to'' in English infinitives or O as the vocative particle.

WordNet
particle
  1. n. (nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything [syn: atom, molecule, corpuscle, mote, speck]

  2. a body having finite mass and internal structure but negligible dimensions

  3. a function word that can be used in English to form phrasal verbs

Wikipedia
Particle (disambiguation)

A particle in the physical sciences is a small localized object to which can be ascribed physical properties.

Particle may also refer to:

Particle (band)

Particle is an American jam band formed in Los Angeles in 2000.

Particle (ecology)

In marine and freshwater ecology, a particle is a small object. Particles can remain in suspension in the ocean or freshwater. However, they eventually settle (rate determined by Stokes' law) and accumulate as sediment. Some can enter the atmosphere through wave action where they can act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Many organisms filter particles out of the water with unique filtration mechanisms ( filter feeders). Particles are often associated with high loads of toxins which attach to the surface. As these toxins are passed up the food chain they accumulate in fatty tissue and become increasingly concentrated in predators (see bioaccumulation). Very little is known about the dynamics of particles, especially when they are re-suspended by dredging. They can remain floating in the water and drift over long distances. The decomposition of some particles by bacteria consumes a lot of oxygen and can cause the water to become hypoxic.

Particle

A particle is a minute fragment or quantity of matter. In the physical sciences, a particle is a small localized object to which can be ascribed several physical or chemical properties such as volume or mass. They vary greatly in size, from subatomic particles like the electron, to microscopic particles like atoms and molecules, to macroscopic particles like powders and other granular materials. Particles can also be used to create scientific models of even larger objects, such as humans moving in a crowd.

The term is rather general in meaning, and is refined as needed by various scientific fields. Something that is composed of particles may be referred to as being particulate. However, the term particulate is most frequently used to refer to pollutants in the Earth's atmosphere, which are a suspension of unconnected particles, rather than a connected particle aggregation.

Particle (film)

Particle is a 2012 Turkish drama film written and directed by Erdem Tepegöz. It was selected to compete in the main competition section of the 35th Moscow International Film Festival where it won the Golden George and Jale Arıkan won the Silver George for Best Actress.

Usage examples of "particle".

As the particles which the creatures devour are rather small, the tendency is to accumulate the finer portions of the soil near the surface of the earth, where by solution they may contribute to the needs of the lowly plants.

Since Ebola virus is highly infective and since as few as five or ten particles of the virus in a blood-borne contact can start an extreme amplification in a new host, there would have been excellent opportunity for the agent to spread.

When a pion, this subatomic particle, decays it becomes an electron and a positron, and they must be in antiparallel spin states so as not to violate conservation of spin angular momentum.

The light had a dull golden cast and a grainy quality, as if mixed in with particles of gloom, and the smell, while it plainly was that of a cleaning agent, did not have the astringency of an industrial cleaner.

The autopilot was nursing the Witch back out toward the periphery of the Thisworld system, seeking a lane of normal spacetime sufficiently empty of particles and gravity to furnish a good, safe springboard for a c-plus jump.

In appearance they are not very different from conventional bacteria, but at high magnification, or rather, at a relatively high magnification, the highest magnification a conventional school microscope is capable of, if you look very carefully you could see some particles inside that have regular geometric shapes.

The malt, in this method of brewing, is ground quite fine, and although an ordinary mash-tun may be used for mashing, the separation of the clear wort from the solid matter takes place in the filter press, which retains the very finest particles with ease.

Even buckytube supermagnets are probably inadequate to this task, but a field too small to serve as an interstellar fuel scoop could still serve well as an unconfined magnetic particle shield.

According to the SG, at the center of the object are excitons, and virtual particles warping configurational Fermi space.

Since rusty particles are always suspended in this sky, future generations of humans, born and living out their lives on Mars, will consider that salmon color to be as natural and familiar as we consider our homey blue.

The hydronium ions came in a sudden wave, catching the dividing cells off-guard Buffer systems were mobilized to neutralize some of the initial reactive particles, but there were too many to combat.

But as far back as 1950, hyperons had been discovered, elementary particles bigger than protons and neutrons.

For if by the logical following of this path - as in modern theoretical physics - the whole universe is dissolved into units which can no longer be distinguished from each other, then it will become impossible to count these parts, for it cannot be established whether any given one of these hypothetical elemental particles has been counted or not.

Breakthroughs in X-ray lithography, using giant particle accelerators called synchrotrons, eventually made possible the imprinting of one billion circuits on a chip, with features as small as one-thousandth the width of a human hair.

That had to wait for genetic engineering to manipulate cells, incorporating magnetite particles into a ferro-vesicle cell model.