The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol

n
or
n0
, which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly
greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms.
Since protons and neutrons behave similarly within the nucleus, and each has a mass
of approximately one dalton, they are both referred to as nucleons.[7] Their
properties and interactions are described by nuclear physics. Protons and neutrons
are not elementary particles; each is composed of three quarks.

The chemical properties of an atom are mostly determined by the configuration of

electrons that orbit the atom's heavy nucleus. The electron configuration is
determined by the charge of the nucleus, which is determined by the number of
protons, or atomic number. The number of neutrons is the neutron number. Neutrons
do not affect the electron configuration, but the sum of atomic and neutron numbers
is the mass of the nucleus.

Atoms of a chemical element that differ only in neutron number are called isotopes.
For example, carbon, with atomic number 6, has an abundant isotope carbon-12 with 6
neutrons and a rare isotope carbon-13 with 7 neutrons. Some elements occur in
nature with only one stable isotope, such as fluorine. Other elements occur with
many stable isotopes, such as tin with ten stable isotopes, or with no stable
isotope, such as technetium.

The properties of an atomic nucleus depend on both atomic and neutron numbers. With
their positive charge, the protons within the nucleus are repelled by the long-
range electromagnetic force, but the much stronger, but short-range, nuclear force
binds the nucleons closely together. Neutrons are required for the stability of
nuclei, with the exception of the single-proton hydrogen nucleus. Neutrons are
produced copiously in nuclear fission and fusion. They are a primary contributor to
the nucleosynthesis of chemical elements within stars through fission, fusion, and
neutron capture processes.

The neutron is essential to the production of nuclear power. In the decade after
the neutron was discovered by James Chadwick in 1932,[8] neutrons were used to
induce many different types of nuclear transmutations. With the discovery of
nuclear fission in 1938,[9] it was quickly realized that, if a fission event
produced neutrons, each of these neutrons might cause further fission events, in a
cascade known as a nuclear chain reaction.[10] These events and findings led to the
first self-sustaining nuclear reactor (Chicago Pile-1, 1942) and the first nuclear
weapon (Trinity, 1945).

Dedicated neutron sources like neutron generators, research reactors and spallation
sources produce free neutrons for use in irradiation and in neutron scattering
experiments. A free neutron spontaneously decays to a proton, an electron, and an
antineutrino, with a mean lifetime of about 15 minutes.[11] Free neutrons do not
directly ionize atoms, but they do indirectly cause ionizing radiation, so they can
be a biological hazard, depending on dose.[10] A small natural "neutron background"
flux of free neutrons exists on Earth, caused by cosmic ray showers, and by the
natural radioactivity of spontaneously fissionable elements in the Earth's crust.
[12]

Description
Nuclear physics

NucleusNucleons pnNuclear matterNuclear forceNuclear structureNuclear reaction

Models of the nucleus
Nuclides' classification
Nuclear stability
Radioactive decay
Nuclear fission
Capturing processes
High-energy processes
Nucleosynthesis and
nuclear astrophysics
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An atomic nucleus is formed by a number of protons, Z (the atomic number), and a
number of neutrons, N (the neutron number), bound together by the nuclear force.
The atomic number determines the chemical properties of the atom, and the neutron
number determines the isotope or nuclide.[10] The terms isotope and nuclide are
often used synonymously, but they refer to chemical and nuclear properties,
respectively. Isotopes are nuclides with the same atomic number, but different
neutron number. Nuclides with the same neutron number, but different atomic number,
are called isotones. The atomic mass number, A, is equal to the sum of atomic and
neutron numbers. Nuclides with the same atomic mass number, but different atomic
and neutron numbers, are called isobars.

The nucleus of the most common isotope of the hydrogen atom (with the chemical
symbol 1H) is a lone proton. The nuclei of the heavy hydrogen isotopes deuterium (D
or 2H) and tritium (T or 3H) contain one proton bound to one and two neutrons,
respectively. All other types of atomic nuclei are composed of two or more protons
and various numbers of neutrons. The most common nuclide of the common chemical
element lead, 208Pb, has 82 protons and 126 neutrons, for example. The table of
nuclides comprises all the known nuclides. Even though it is not a chemical
element, the neutron is included in this table.[13]

The free neutron has a mass of 939565413.3 eV/c2, or 1.674927471×10−27 kg, or

1.00866491588 Da.[4] The neutron has a mean square radius of about 0.8×10−15 m, or
0.8 fm,[14] and it is a spin-½ fermion.[15] The neutron has no measurable electric
charge. With its positive electric charge, the proton is directly influenced by
electric fields, whereas the neutron is unaffected by electric fields. But the
neutron has a magnetic moment, so the neutron is influenced by magnetic fields. The
neutron's magnetic moment has a negative value, because its orientation is opposite
to the neutron's spin.[16]

A free neutron is unstable, decaying to a proton, electron and antineutrino with a

mean lifetime of just under 15 minutes (879.6±0.8 s).[5] This radioactive decay,
known as beta decay, is possible because the mass of the neutron is slightly
greater than that of the proton. The free proton is stable. However, neutrons or
protons bound in a nucleus can be stable or unstable, depending on the nuclide.
Beta decay, in which neutrons decay to protons, or vice versa, is governed by the
weak force, and it requires the emission or absorption of electrons and neutrinos,
or their antiparticles.

Nuclear fission caused by absorption of a neutron by uranium-235. The heavy nuclide

fragments into lighter components and additional neutrons.
Protons and neutrons behave almost identically under the influence of the nuclear
force within the nucleus. The concept of isospin, in which the proton and neutron
are viewed as two quantum states of the same particle, is used to model the
interactions of nucleons by the nuclear or weak forces. Because of the strength of
the nuclear force at short distances, the binding energy of nucleons is more than
seven orders of magnitude larger than the electromagnetic energy binding electrons
in atoms. Nuclear reactions (such as nuclear fission) therefore have an energy
density that is more than ten million times that of chemical reactions. Because of
the mass–energy equivalence, nuclear binding energies reduce the mass of nuclei.
Ultimately, the ability of the nuclear force to store energy arising from the
electromagnetic repulsion of nuclear components is the basis for most of the energy
that makes nuclear reactors or bombs possible. In nuclear fission, the absorption
of a neutron by a heavy nuclide (e.g., uranium-235) causes the nuclide to become
unstable and break into light nuclides and additional neutrons. The positively
charged light nuclides then repel, releasing electromagnetic potential energy.

The neutron is classified as a hadron, because it is a composite particle made of

quarks. The neutron is also classified as a baryon, because it is composed of three
valence quarks.[17] The finite size of the neutron and its magnetic moment both
indicate that the neutron is a composite, rather than elementary, particle. A
neutron contains two down quarks with charge −
1
/
3
e and one up quark with charge +
2
/
3
e.