Difference Between Muons and Mesons

The key difference between muons and mesons is that muons are a type of elementary particles which have no substructure whereas mesons are a type of hadronic subatomic particles which have a pair of quark and anti-quark particle.

Muons and mesons are two types of particles in matter. Muons are a type of elementary particles such as electrons, and we cannot divide them further into smaller structures (such as quarks). But mesons are somewhat larger than muons and contain quark and antiquark particles; thus, they fall under a different category called hadronic subatomic particles. The term hadronic means indicates that it contains two or more quark particles, and subatomic particles are smaller structures than toms, which build up the structure of an atom.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What are Muons 
3. What are Mesons
4. Side by Side Comparison – Muons vs Mesons in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What are Muons?

Muons are elementary particles which have no substructure. That means; these particles are very small, and there are no quark or antiquark particles in them. These particles are similar to electrons. They have -1 electrical charge and the spin is ½. However, they have a greater mass compared to electrons (about 207 times greater). Further, we can classify it as a lepton because it has a half-integer spin that does not undergo strong interactions. Nevertheless, this particle never reacts with nuclei or other particles through strong interaction.

Muons have two forms as a negative charged particle and a positive charged antiparticle. The antiparticle has an equal spin and mass, but an opposite charge. Further, these particles are unstable, and the mean lifetime is about 2.2 s. However, it is a much longer lifetime compared to other subatomic particles.

What are Mesons?

Mesons are hadronic subatomic particles which have a pair of quark and antiquark particles. These two particles bind with each other via strong interactions. These are physically somewhat large particle due to the presence of a pair of substructures (quarks). Its size is 1.2 times the proton.

All mesons are unstable particles. Their lifetime is very short, about a few hundredths of a microsecond. Apart from that, charged meson particle undergoes decay, forming electrons and neutrinos. Uncharged mesons, on the other hand, decay-producing photons. The spin of a meson is 1.

What is the Difference Between Muons and Mesons?

Muons are elementary particles which have no substructure while mesons are hadronic subatomic particles which have a pair of quark and antiquark particles. So, the key difference between muons and mesons is that the muons are a type of elementary particles that have no substructure, whereas the mesons are a type of hadronic subatomic particles that have a pair of quark and anti-quark particle.

Moreover, a further difference between muons and mesons is that the size of a muon is very small, similar to an electron, while the meson is large and it is about 1.2 times the size of a proton. Besides, the muon has a ½ integer spin, but the spin of a meson is 0 or 1.

Summary – Muons vs Mesons

Muons are elementary particles that have no substructure while mesons are hadronic subatomic particles that have a pair of quark and antiquark particles. The key difference between muons and mesons is that the muons are a type of elementary particles that have no substructure, whereas the mesons are a type of hadronic subatomic particles that have a pair of quark and anti-quark particle.

Reference:

1. “Mesons.” Hadrons, Baryons, Mesons, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Moon’s shadow in muons” (Fair use) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Bosons-Hadrons-Fermions-RGB” By Hugo Spinelli – Own work (CC0) via Commons Wikimedia