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• n  (nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything
• n  a body having finite mass and internal structure but negligible dimensions
• n  a function word that can be used in English to form phrasal verbs

• This summer, after 25 years of preparation, scientists at CERN, the world's largest particle physics laboratory, will try to re-create the conditions produced by the Big Bang.
• A giant accelerator searches for a tiny and elusive particle that is key to understanding the origins of the universe.
• It turns out to be a spherical particle almost exactly a millionth of an inch in diameter.

• atom
• molecule
• corpuscle
• mote
• speck
• subatomic particle

News & Articles

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• 'Popcorn' particle pathways promise better lithium-ion batteries
  Researchers have confirmed the particle-by-particle mechanism by which lithium ions move in and out of electrodes made of lithium iron phosphate, findings that could lead to better performance in lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles, medical equipment and aircraft.
  June 11, 2013 - Science Daily
• Early data from first human study suggests radiation-antibody combination is safe
  An experimental treatment that combines a cell-killing radioactive particle with an antibody that homes in on cancer cells is safe in the treatment of cancers spreading through patients’ abdomens, new research suggests.
  June 11, 2013 - Science Daily
• No Black Hole Or Magnetic Monopole: Tunguska Really Was a Meteor
  davide-nature writes "The mysterious blast that flattened 2,000 square km of a remote Siberian forest in 1908 has been blamed on the most bizarre causes, such as an exotic elementary particle left over from the Big Bang, a black hole or, of course, aliens, including in the double-episode 'Tunguska' of The X-Files. But a new analysis of tiny rock samples suggests that a more mundane explanation ...
  June 11, 2013 - Slashdot

Quotes

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• Hubert Reeves in AFP
  This machine will probably bring unexpected results that could turn particle physics on its head,Reeves said.
• Barbara Boxer in Yahoo! News
  Then-Congresswoman (now Sen.) Barbara Boxer called the Strategic Defense Initiative "the president's astrological dream ...... a dream of laser weapons powered by nuclear explosions, particle beam weapons, chemical rockets and space based...