At the request of Physics, a neutron is that elementary, heavy particle that has a neutral electric charge and a mass approximately similar to that of the proton and that is part of the atomic nuclei together with the protons.. Specifically, the neutron is made up of two down quarks and one up quark.
The half-life that the neutron presents outside the atomic nucleus is fifteen minutes, when it emits an antineutron and an electron to become a proton. Those neutrons that have a mass similar to protons turn out to be necessary for the stability of atomic nuclei, with the exception of hydrogen.
Ernest Rutherford, New Zealand chemist and physicist He was the first to proclaim the existence of the neutron in 1920 and then, from this point on, it was explained why nuclei do not disintegrate due to the electromagnetic repulsion of protons.
Neutrons are the particles that act in nuclear reactions, which will occur when a neutron drives the fission of an atom, generating a greater number of neutrons that at the same time generate new fissions. According to the way in which this reaction occurs, we will be faced with a controlled reaction (the moderator of a nuclear reactor is used to take advantage of nuclear energy) or before a uncontrolled reaction (A critical mass of nuclear fuel is generated).
Nuclear fission It is a reaction that occurs within the nucleus of the atom and develops when the heavy nucleus is divided into smaller nuclei, in addition to other by-products, free neutrons and photons. In the case of fission of heavy nuclei, it is an exothermic process in which large amounts of energy will be released.
