Lepton

Lepton (Fr). Lepton (Ge). Leptón (Sp). Лептон (Ru). Leptone (It). レプトン (Ja).

Lepton is a term introduced by Friedrich Rinne (1924) to indicate electrons, atoms, ions, radicals, and molecules building the unit formula of a crystalline compound. The crystal structure of a solid was sometimes called 'leptonic structure'.

Today, the term lepton is used to indicate spin-1/2 particles and Rinne's use is only of historical interest.

References

• Rinne, F. (1924). Crystals and the Fine-Structure of Matter. London: Methuen & Co. English translation by S. W. Stiles
• Winchell, A. N. (1925). Astrophys. J. 61, 335–336. Review: Crystals and the fine structure of matter by Friedrich Rinne