tachyonn.
/ˈtakɪɒn/, U.S. /ˈtækiˌɑn/ Physics.
A hypothetical particle which travels faster than light (and whose rest mass is therefore an imaginary number); the quantum of a field characterized by negative squared mass (imaginary rest mass), such as the Higgs boson.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > [noun] > hypothetical particle
tachyon1967
leptoquark1974
wino1981
higgsino1982
zino1982
1967 G. Feinberg in Physical Rev. 159 1090/1 One description is presented..for noninteracting faster than light particles, which we call tachyons.
1978 J. M. Pasachoff & M. L. Kutner University Astron. xxvii. 695 So far, there is no experimental evidence that tachyons exist.
1990 R. Morris Edges of Sci. iv. x. 199 At first, the idea of tachyons elicited a certain amount of theoretical interest, and attempts were made to detect them experimentally.
2006 L. Smolin Trouble with Physics xii. 181 There is a theory..called the bosonic string. This theory has tachyons, which lead to infinite expressions, rendering the theory inconsistent.
Derivatives
ˌtachyˈonic adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > [adjective] > relating to a tachyon
tachyonic1970
1970 Physical Rev. D. 2 265/2 (caption) A and B use tachyonic antitelephones to communicate backwards in time.
2008 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 366 2839 The charged fields become tachyonic, acquiring a vacuum expectation value.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1967