neutron

Meaning

Noun

• A subatomic particle forming part of the nucleus of an atom and having no charge; it is a combination of an up quark and two down quarks.

Related

Similar words

• n

Broader meaning words

• baryon
• nucleon

Origin

• From neutral + -on. in a paper in the Philosophical Magazine. Subsequent usage was sporadic and theoretical, sometimes referring to neutrinos rather than neutrons, and the modern sense was reintroduced alongside proton by Ernest Rutherford in 1920.