What are hyperons?
Q: What are hyperons?
A: Hyperons are particles made of quarks that must have at least one strange quark, but no charm quarks or bottom quarks.
Q: What is strangeness?
A: Strangeness is a property of the strange quark which causes it and all other particles bonded with it to not decay by strong force, but instead due to the much slower weak force.
Q: How many different types of hyperon combinations exist?
A: There are dozens of different hyperon combinations.
Q: What is an example of a hyperon combination?
A: A Λ (lambda) hyperon has a charge of 0, and is often written as Λ0. When it decays, it usually creates one proton, and one antipion.
Q: What is the average lifespan for Λ0 hyperons?
A: The average lifespan for Λ0 hyperons is 2.6x10−10 seconds.
Q: Where do scientists study hyperons? A: Scientists study hyperons in labs across the world such as CERN, Fermilab, and SLAC.
Q: What kind of problems can studying hyperons help solve? A: Studying hyperons can help answer questions for problems such as CP Violation, in which symmetries that were believed to be true may not be true.
