Sir James Chadwick – Proving the Existence of the Neutron (1932) (450

words)
The bells rang out across the River Cam and the echo moved into the room of
James Chadwick. Determined as ever, he pushed his glasses back onto his nose
as he examined his equipment in his room. This room had been the place
where he had toiled, tried new ideas, and triumphed many times. He had been
researching for the last nine years here in Cambridge. Feeling like the room
was a friendly ally, he thought about how many other discoveries and
achievements had happened within the hallowed halls of Cambridge.

As he adjusted the equipment dials to increase the release of Thorium C, he

felt hope rise in his chest. His goal in this moment was to try and measure the
mass of the neutron, and therefore prove that it existed. For the last seven
years, scientists knew, due to the Zeeman effect, that there were unexpected
anomalies within the structure and weight of the atom. He felt like he was
searching for a needle in a haystack for the previous few months while trying
to find the elusive missing piece of the atom.

His companion and assistant, Maurice Goldhaber, stood nearby with an

anxious expression on his face. He was staring intently at the paraffin wax at
which they were directing radiation from a polonium source. His body was
stooped over the Geiger counter ready to read the voltage recorded by the
metallic, shiny, and cold machine. Scrawled across the board behind Maurice
was the equation that had teased them and motivated them:

It was Maurice’s idea to use Thorium C to try and locate the elusive proton.
Like grappling for a light switch in the dark, both men knew that the proton
was there, and they were now fumbling with a purpose to find it. Could they
prove that this puzzle was solvable? Or would they get near the completion of
the puzzle and find another missing piece again?
The Geiger counter reader clicked and ticked happily as James released the
radiation. Maurice’s face softened and stretched in excitement as he read the
counter’s voltage gauge.
“There’s an exact discrepancy of 1.00866 daltons! That proves our equation to
be true!”

The two scientists and friends took time to look across at each other to let the
moment sink in. Not speaking. The bells now still. Silence.

In the months to come, the weight of their discovery would become apparent
to them and the world. Their evidence of the existence of the neutron would
allow humankind to understand and harness nuclear energy.