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In physics, the neutron is a subatomic particle with no net electric charge and a mass of 940 MeV/ c 2 ( } × 10 } kg; very slightly more than a proton). Its spin is 1/2. The nucleus of most atomFor alternative meanings see atom (disambiguation). An atom is a microscopic structure found in all ordinary matter around us. Atoms are composed of 3 types of subatomic particles: electrons, which have a negative charge; protons, which have a positive chs (all except the most common isotopeIsotopes are atoms of a chemical element whose nuclei have the same atomic number, Z but different atomic weights, A''. The word isotope meaning at the same place comes from the fact that isotopes are located at the same place on the periodic table. The a of Hydrogenhydrogen helium H Li Full table General Name, Symbol, NumberHydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1 (IA), 1 , s Density, Hardness 0. 0899 kg/m3, NA Appearance colorless Atomic properties Atomic weight 1. 00794 amu Atomic radius (ca, which consists of a single proton only) consists of protons and neutrons. Outside the nucleus, neutrons are unstable and have a half-lifeThis article describes the scientific meaning. For the computer game, see Half-Life''. For a quantity subject to exponential decay, the half-life is the time required for the quantity to fall to half of its initial value. Quantities subject to exponential of about 15 minutes, decaying by emitting an electronThe electron (also called negatron commonly represented as e&minus is a subatomic particle. In an atom the electrons surround the nucleus of protons and neutrons in an electron configuration. Electrons have the smallest electrical charge and when they mov and antineutrinoThe neutrino is an elementary particle. It has spin 1/2 and so it is a fermion. Its mass is very small, although recent experiments (see Super-Kamiokande) have shown it to be above zero. It feels neither the strong nor the electromagnetic force, so it onl to become a proton. The same decay method ( beta decay) occurs in some nuclei. Particles inside the nucleus are typically resonances between neutrons and protons, which transform into one another by the emission and absorption of pions. A neutron is classified as a baryon, and consists of two down quarks and one up quark. The neutron's antimatter equivalent is the antineutron.
The characteristic of neutrons which most differentiates them from other common subatomic particles is the fact that they are uncharged. This property of neutrons delayed their discovery, makes them very penetrating, makes it impossible to observe them directly, and makes them very important as agents in nuclear change.
Although atoms in their normal state are also uncharged, they are ten thousand times larger than a neutron and consist of a complex system of negatively charged electrons widely spaced around a positively charged nucleus. Charged particles (such as protons, electrons, or alpha particles) and electromagnetic radiations (such as gamma rays) lose energy in passing through matter. They exert electric forces which ionize atoms of the material through which they pass. The energy taken up in ionization equals the energy lost by the charged particle, which slows down, or by the gamma ray, which is absorbed. The neutron, however, is unaffected by such forces; it is affected only by the very short-range strong and weak nuclear forces which comes into play when the neutron comes very close indeed to an atomic nucleus. Consequently a free neutron goes on its way unchecked until it makes a "head-on" collision with an atomic nucleus. Since nuclei have a very small cross section, such collisions occur but rarely and the neutron travels a long way before colliding.
In the case of a collision of the elastic type, the ordinary laws of momentum apply as they do in the elastic collision of billiard balls. If the nucleus that is struck is heavy, it acquires relatively little speed, but if it is a proton, which is approximately equal in mass to the neutron, it is projected forward with a large fraction of the original speed of the neutron, which is itself correspondingly slowed. Secondary projectiles resulting from these collisions may be detected, for they are charged and produce ionization.
The uncharged nature of the neutron makes it not only difficult to detect but difficult to control. Charged particles can be accelerated, decelerated, or deflected by electric or magnetic fields which have about no effect on neutrons (there is a small effect of a magnetic field on the free neutron because of its magnetic moment). Furthermore, free neutrons ( neutron radiation) can be obtained only from nuclear disintegrations; there is no natural supply. The only means we have of controlling free neutrons is to put nuclei in their way so that they will be slowed and deflected or absorbed by collisions. These effects are of great practical importance in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Free neutron beams are obtained from neutron sources by neutron transport.