neutron

Etymology

From neutral + -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.

noun

  1. (physics) 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.
    Holonyms: atom, nucleus
    Comeronyms: proton, electron

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