free electron

English

free electron (plural free electrons)

(physics, chemistry) An electron not attached to an atom.
(politics, figuratively) A person who acts independently of the organization to which they belong.
- 2012 October 22, Lolita Buckner-Inniss, “Christiane Taubira”, in Black Past‎:
  She has been called a “free electron” in politics because of her sometimes independent stances apart from party politics.
- 2020 June 23, John Bolton, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 71:
  Haley was a free electron, which she had obviously gotten used to, communicating directly with Trump.

electron not attached to an atom

“free electron”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
“free electron”, in Collins English Dictionary.

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