What are Neutrons?
Neutrons are subatomic particles that are neutral in nature. They do not carry any of the charges. Neutrons are the major constituent of the nucleus and lie along with protons. The mass of a neutron ranges slightly greater than a proton in magnitude. The protons and neutrons present in the nucleus are responsible for the chemical properties of an atom.
The concept of the neutron was proposed by Ernest Rutherford in 1920. And was discovered by the British physicist James Chadwick in 1932.
Properties of Neutrons
The basic property of neutrons are,
- Charge on a neutron: As neutrons are neutrally charged subatomic particles the charge carried by them is 0.
Charge on Neutron = 0
- Mass of a neutron: The mass of a neutron can be calculated by subtracting the mass of the proton from the mass of the deuterium nucleus. The mass of a neutron is 1.008 atomic mass units (amu).
Mass of a neutron = 1.676 × 10-27 Kg
- Although a neutron is a neutral subatomic particle yet it gets affected by the presence of the magnetic field. Due to this its magnetic moment does not equal zero.
- Neutrons are not affected by the electric fields.
What is Atom?
Atoms are tiny particles that comprise all the things in the known universe. Atoms of an element are responsible for all chemical reactions occurring in nature. We know that atoms are made up of three fundamental particles namely,
- Electrons
- Protons
- Neutrons
These particles are also called subatomic particles as they are found inside atoms. An atom is the basic building block of matter and all the thing around us is made up of combing atoms in different proportions. Let’s learn more about Atom, its constituents, and its structure in detail in this article.
Table of Content
- Atom Definition
- Structure of Atom
- History of Atom
- What is the Size of an Atom?
- What is Atomic Mass?