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The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol n or n 0, that has no electric charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton.Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms.
An up quark has electric charge + + 2 / 3 e, and a down quark has charge − + 1 / 3 e, so the summed electric charges of proton and neutron are +e and 0, respectively. [a] Thus, the neutron has a charge of 0 (zero), and therefore is electrically neutral; indeed, the term "neutron" comes from the fact that a neutron is ...
Protons define the entire charge of a nucleus, and hence its chemical identity. Neutrons are electrically neutral, but contribute to the mass of a nucleus to nearly the same extent as the protons. Neutrons can explain the phenomenon of isotopes (same atomic number with different atomic mass). The main role of neutrons is to reduce electrostatic ...
Neutrons are neutral particles having a mass slightly greater than that of the proton. Different isotopes of the same element contain the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. The mass number of an isotope is the total number of nucleons (neutrons and protons collectively).
The atomic number or nuclear charge number (symbol Z) of a chemical element is the charge number of its atomic nucleus. For ordinary nuclei composed of protons and neutrons , this is equal to the proton number ( n p ) or the number of protons found in the nucleus of every atom of that element.
Neutron radiation is a form of ionizing radiation that presents as free neutrons.Typical phenomena are nuclear fission or nuclear fusion causing the release of free neutrons, which then react with nuclei of other atoms to form new nuclides—which, in turn, may trigger further neutron radiation.
As neutrons carry no electric charge, neutron beams cannot be controlled by the conventional electromagnetic methods employed in particle accelerators. [52] The magnetic moment of the neutron allows some control of neutrons using magnetic fields, however, including the formation of polarized neutron beams.
An animation of the strong interaction between a proton and a neutron, mediated by pions. The colored small double circles inside are gluons . In nuclear physics and particle physics , the strong interaction , also called the strong force or strong nuclear force , is a fundamental interaction that confines quarks into protons , neutrons , and ...