neutron, neutral 

subatomic particle that is a constituent of every atomic nucleus except

ordinary hydrogen. It has no electric charge and a rest mass equal to 1.67492749804 ×
10−27 kg—marginally greater than that of the proton but 1,838.68 times greater than that
of the electron. Neutrons and protons, commonly called nucleons, are bound together in
the dense inner core of an atom, the nucleus, where they account for 99.9 percent of the
atom’s mass. Developments in high-energy particle physics in the 20th century revealed
that neither the neutron nor the proton is a true elementary particle. Rather, they are
composites of extremely small elementary particles called quarks. The neutron is
composed of two down quarks, each with 1/3 elementary charge, and one up quark, with
2/3 elementary charge. The nucleus is bound together by the residual effect of
the strong force, a fundamental interaction that governs the behaviour of the quarks
that make up the individual protons and neutrons.

nuclear fission
The neutron was discovered in 1932 by the English physicist James Chadwick. Within a
few years after this discovery, many investigators throughout the world were studying
the properties and interactions of the particle. It was found that various elements, when
bombarded by neutrons, undergo fission—a type of nuclear reaction that occurs when
the nucleus of a heavy element is split into two nearly equal smaller fragments. During
this reaction each fissioned nucleus gives off additional free neutrons, as well as those
bound to the fission fragments. In 1942 a group of American researchers, under the
leadership of the physicist Enrico Fermi, demonstrated that enough free neutrons are
produced during the fission process to sustain a chain reaction. This development led to
the construction of the atomic bomb. Subsequent technological breakthroughs resulted
in the large-scale production of electric power from nuclear energy. The absorption of
neutrons by nuclei exposed to the high neutron intensities available in nuclear
reactors has also made it possible to produce large quantities of radioactive
isotopes useful for a wide variety of purposes. Furthermore, the neutron has become an
important tool in pure research. Knowledge of its properties and structure is essential to
an understanding of the structure of matter in general. Nuclear reactions induced by
neutrons are valuable sources of information about the atomic nucleus and
the force that binds it together.