In 1932, the English physicist Sir James Chadwick discovered that the nucleus of the atom consisted of another particle besides protons.
He called the particles neutrons because they had a neutral charge, unlike the positively charged protons.
At the time, the discovery did not make many headlines.
Ernest Rutherford had predicted the neutron’s presence many years before as the only possible explanation for some extra weight in the nucleus besides the protons.
Within just a few years, an Italian physicist would find a way to turn the neutron into much more than just another atomic particle.
