James Chadwick

Who was he?

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James Chadwick was born in Manchester in 1891. He received the Nobel Prize for Physics for his discovery of the neutron in 1932.

How did he do it?

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He worked with Rutherford, who discovered the proton. As they studied atomic decay they kept seeing that the number of protons was less than the atomic mass. Rutherford suggested that there could be a particle with mass but no charge a neutron. Chadwick proved this in 1932 when he observed beryllium, when exposed to bombardment by alpha particles, released an unknown radiation that in turn ejected protons from the nuclei of various substances. Chadwick interpreted this radiation as being composed of particles of mass almost equal to the proton, but without a charge a neutron.

Uses of Chadwicks Discovery

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Physicists soon found that the neutron made an ideal bullet for bombarding other nuclei as it was not repelled by similarly charged particles. Before long, neutron bombardment was applied to the uranium atom, splitting its nucleus and releasing huge amounts of energy for generating heat and electrical power.

A Final Thought
The discovery certainly made a

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