What is a neutron definition?

The neutron is one of the three subatomic particles that make up an atom. It exists in the
nucleus of the atom alongside protons and makes up an atom's atomic mass with protons.
While a proton is positively charged and an electron is negatively charged, a neutron is
neutral; it doesn't have a charge.

Why is it called a neutron?

Neutrons were predicted by Ernest Rutherford, and discovered by James Chadwick, in 1932.
Atoms were fired at a thin pane of beryllium. Particles emerged which had no charge, and he
called these 'neutrons'. They were later added to the modern image of the atom.

What is neutrons ?

Neutrons are subatomic particles that are one of the primary constituents of atomic nuclei.
They are usually denoted by the symbol n or no. Neutrons do not have any net electric
charge associated with them. They do, however, have a mass which is slightly greater in
magnitude than that of a proton.

_ Neutrons, along with protons, are subatomic particles found in the nucleus of every atom
except that of simple hydrogen ( Where the nucleus contains only a single proton).

_ Neutrons have no electrical charge (neither negative nor positive ) ‌and they are extremely
dense.

_ Neutrons contain one up quark and two down quarks.

_The main function of neutrons is to contribute to the binding energy or nuclear to the
binding energy or nuclear glue that holds the nucleus itself together.
Properties of the Neutron

A neutron is one of the subatomic particles that make up matter. The neutron has no electric
charge and a rest mass equal to 1.67493 × 10−27 kg — marginally greater than that of the
proton but nearly 1839 times greater than that of the electron. The neutron has a mean
square radius of about 0.8×10−15 m or 0.8 fm, and it is a spin-½ fermion.
Key properties of neutrons are summarized below:

Mean square radius of a neutron is ~ 0.8 x 10-15m (0.8 fermi)

The mass of the neutron is 939.565 MeV/c2.
Neutrons are ½ spin particles – fermionic statistics.
Neutrons are neutral particles – no net electric charge.
Neutrons have a non-zero magnetic moment.
Free neutrons (outside a nucleus) are unstable and decay via beta decay. The decay of the
neutron involves the weak interaction and is associated with a quark transformation (a down
quark is converted to an up quark).
The mean lifetime of a free neutron is 882 seconds (i.e., the half-life is 611 seconds).

A natural neutron background of free neutrons exists everywhere on Earth. It is caused by

muons produced in the atmosphere, where high-energy cosmic rays collide with particles of
Earth’s atmosphere.

Neutrons cannot directly cause ionization. Neutrons ionize matter only indirectly.

Neutrons can travel hundreds of feet in the air without any interaction. Neutron radiation is
highly penetrating.
Neutrons trigger nuclear fission.

The fission process produces free neutrons (2 or 3).

Thermal or cold neutrons have wavelengths similar to atomic spacings. They can be used in
neutron diffraction experiments to determine the atomic and/or magnetic structure of a
material.

They are highly penetrating but not much when compared to cosmic rays. They are unable
to ionize a gas. Therefore, they do not produce a track in Wilson's cloud chamber.

A neutron is a neutral subatomic particle with no electrical charge. A neutron has about the
same mass as a proton. A proton (positive), electron (negative), and neutron are the three
constituents of an atom (neutral).

By way of conclusion, we would like to emphasize once more that the neutron is a fantastic
particle involved in a lot of interesting physical problems. The new generation experiments
and installations coming in operation would give a new impetus to this fascinating physics.