Neutron

How to spell neutron

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce neutron

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does neutron mean?

1. nounA subatomic particle found in the nucleus of an atom that carries no electric charge.

Neutron in a sentence

• The neutron has almost the same mass as a proton but no charge.

• Adding a neutron to a nucleus can create a heavier isotope of the same element.

Where does neutron come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word neutron is built from the Latin neuter, meaning 'neither (of two)', combined with the particle ending -on that English physics had already adopted from words like ion and electron. The 'neutr-' element points directly to the particle's defining feature: it carries no electric charge, being neither positive nor negative, which is why the same root sits inside the everyday word 'neutral'. The term was floated as early as 1921 by the chemist William Harkins to describe a hypothetical uncharged particle in the nucleus, and it was firmly attached to the real particle after James Chadwick demonstrated its existence in 1932. Because the spelling preserves the Latin 'eu' of neuter, writers must remember that the tricky vowel cluster is 'eu' and not the more phonetic 'oo' or 'u' that the pronunciation might suggest. Its sibling particle names, electron and proton, follow the same -on pattern, which makes the family easy to recall together.

How the word is built

• neutr- (from Latin neuter: neither)
• -on (suffix for subatomic particles, as in electron and proton)