Selectron

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A hypothetical subatomic particle predicted by supersymmetry theory as the heavier spin-zero partner of the electron
2. A proposed particle in particle physics theory that would be a scalar counterpart of the electron with a different spin
3. The theorized superpartner of the electron, a particle with zero spin that supersymmetry models have suggested might exist

Etymology: Selectron is a physicists' coinage built from a fragment of the word "electron" with a new prefix. The prefix "s-" stands for "supersymmetric," the theory that every known particle has a heavier partner. The electron's partner would therefore be the "selectron," a hypothetical particle that has never been observed. The electron itself takes its name from the ancient Greek "ēlektron," meaning amber, the yellowish fossil resin that was prized in antiquity. Latin borrowed it as "ēlectrum," and scientists later used the Latin-derived "electric" for materials that, like rubbed amber, attract light objects. In 1891 the Irish physicist George Johnstone Stoney proposed "electron" as a name for the basic unit of electric charge, and the word then passed into the vocabulary of physics. Because "selectron" was formed by simply attaching "s-" to "electron," it adds no new classical root. It is a direct result of supersymmetry theory, which predicts partners for electrons and other particles, though none of these partners have yet been detected.