Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin limit

proper noun

A theoretical upper limit on the energy of cosmic ray protons travelling from other galaxies through the intergalactic medium to the Milky Way.

Meanings

Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin limit1

Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin Limit2

proper noun
  1. alternativeAlternative form of Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin limit.

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

From the surnames of the three physicists who proposed this limitation on the long distance travel of energetic particles. From Greisen + Zatsepin + Kuzmin. Named after the American physicist Kenneth Greisen, and the Soviet physicists Georgiy Zatsepin, and Vadim Kuzmin. The Soviet and the American teams each discovered the limit separately in the 1960s, being independently computed in 1966.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin limit. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin%20limit

MLA

“Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin limit.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin%20limit. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin limit,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin%20limit.

Source: Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin limit on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.