Construct · 1 fields · 3 citations

positron: a standalone construct

One name. One construct. A landmark on the map.

● anchor · a standalone construct Nearest construct by meaningbremsstrahlungcompare the meanings
How to read this

Every construct on the map is compared with every other by the meaning of its definitions, and the closest one is surfaced here. The nearest construct to positron is bremsstrahlung.

Hold this as a prompt, not a verdict. Two constructs sitting close in meaning is a reason to read them side by side and decide for yourself whether they are one idea under two names. It is not proof that they are. Compare the meanings in the Collider.

positron1 CONSTRUCTPositronDIRAC · ANTI-ELECTRON

A single standalone construct; nearby constructs are located against it in the Collider. Tap a field for its definition, unit, and measures.

Physics

The antiparticle of the electron

Paul Dirac's 1931 paper Quantised singularities in the electromagnetic field predicted the positron on theoretical grounds: his relativistic equation for the electron implied a partner particle with the same mass but the opposite, positive electric charge, which he called an anti-electron. Carl Anderson confirmed it experimentally in 1932, photographing in a cloud chamber a particle that curved like an electron but in the opposite direction, and in his 1933 report he named it the positron, a contraction of positive electron. The positron is the antiparticle of the electron: it carries one unit of positive charge, has the electron's rest mass and spin, and annihilates on contact with an electron, converting their combined mass into gamma-ray photons. As the first antimatter particle to be predicted and then observed, it is a landmark in the physics of antimatter, and its annihilation signature underlies positron emission tomography, the PET scan used in medical imaging.[1][2][3]

Unit
A subatomic particle: the electron's antiparticle, carrying one unit of positive charge
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Identified by its track curving opposite to an electron's in a magnetic field and by the pair of 511 keV gamma-ray photons emitted when it annihilates with an electron

Next

Run it through the Collider, or take the citations with you.

See how positron sits against neighbouring constructs in the Collider, or export every reference on this page in one click.

Open in ColliderExport BibTeXReport this entry

Nearby constructs

particle1 fields · 2 citationsanchor · a standalone constructcharge1 fields · 2 citationsanchor · a standalone constructspin4 fields · 4 citationsjingle · one word, four constructs

References

  1. Dirac, P. A. M. (1931). Quantised singularities in the electromagnetic field. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, 133(821), 60–72. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.1931.0130
  2. Anderson, C. D. (1932). The apparent existence of easily deflectable positives. Science, 76(1967), 238–239. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.76.1967.238
  3. Anderson, C. D. (1933). The positive electron. Physical Review, 43(6), 491–494. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.43.491

Cited on this page?

Confirm your construct, or correct us.

If your work is cited behind one of these entries, you know better than we do whether we captured the meaning right. Confirm it, suggest an edit, or dispute it, and your name goes on the entry as an author who has checked it, linked to your ORCID.

Claim your construct