A "third generation," still under investigation, includes tau particles, tau neutrinos and "top" and "bottom" quarks.
The latter get their names from their association with muons and tau particles, which are sort of like heavy electrons.
There are six leptons: the electron, muon, and tau particles and their associated neutrinos.
And although neither Murdoch nor Anne is aware of it, the flood of tau particles accompanying the message upset delicate quantum probabilities.
Heavier electronlike particles known as muons and tau particles are accompanied by their own flavors of neutrinos.
The third family consists of "top" and "bottom" quarks, the first of which has yet to be detected; the tau particle, and the tau neutrino.
Because of their greater mass, tau particles do not emit as much bremsstrahlung radiation as electrons; consequently they are potentially highly penetrating, much more so than electrons.
The other is believed to consist of "top" and "bottom" quarks, plus tau particles and tau neutrinos.
Physicists have determined that in particle reactions, separate neutrino types are associated with three other types of lepton particles: electrons, muons and tau particles.
The third generation contains tau particles, the "top" and "bottom" quarks, and tau neutrinos.