Article
Article
Muonium
Article By:
Egan, Patrick O. Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
Last reviewed:June 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.439500
An exotic atom, Mu or (μ+ e−), formed when a positively charged muon (μ+) and an electron are bound by their mutual electrical attraction. It is a light, unstable isotope of hydrogen, with a muon replacing the proton. Muonium has a mass 0.11 times that of a hydrogen atom due to the lighter mass of the muon, and a mean lifetime of 2.2 microseconds, determined by the spontaneous decay of the muon (μ+ → e+νe μ).
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
