Link Centre Dictionary

neutron

neut·ron

UK/ˈn(j)uː.tɹɒn/ US/ˈnu.tɹɑn/ uncommon

noun

1.

an elementary particle with 0 charge and mass about equal to a proton; enters into the structure of the atomic nucleus

Origin

From neutral + -on; by surface analysis, neutr(o)- + -on. Coined by Scottish-Australian physicist William Sutherland in 1899 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.

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.