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You are here: Home / Science / Who Discovered Neutrons At the Nucleus of the Atom and How Did Neutrons Get Its Name?

Who Discovered Neutrons At the Nucleus of the Atom and How Did Neutrons Get Its Name?

July 26, 2020 by Karen Hill

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.

Related Facts

  • How did atomic physicists split the atom and When?
  • Who Discovered Neutrons and Where do Neutrons come from?
  • Who Discovered Quarks and Where do the subatomic particles that make up protons and neutrons come from?
  • Who Discovered Isotopes and Why do some chemical elements have different atomic weights?
  • How Did Enrico Fermi Split the Atom and How Did Fermi Discover Nuclear Fission Which Produced Energy?
  • How did Ernest Rutherford discover that the atom is mostly empty space?

Filed Under: Science

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What Was the Manhattan Project and When Did the Manhattan Project Led By Enrico Fermi Take Place?
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