James+Chadwick+–+Existence+of+Neutrons

James Chadwick

** Date of Birth- October 20, 1891** ** Date of Death- July 24, 1974** ** Place of Origin- Cheshire, England** ** Year of Discovery-1932 ** James Chadwick was born as the son of John Joseph Chadwick and Anne Mary Knowles. To begin his education in the sciences, Chadwick attended Manchester High School until he was accepted by Manchester University. It was there he began his quest for knowledge of physics until he graduated from the Honours School of Physics. Soon after, Chadwick just began receiving quality positions right and left. In only 14 years, he was elected Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, became Assistant Director of Research in the Cavendish Laboratory, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.

But it wasn’t for his charisma that he received these positions, but for his great contribution to science, the discovery of neutrons. Unlike the proton which has a positive charge, and unlike the electron which has a negative charge, the neutron is simply neutral and lacking an electrical charge altogether. Because of this fact though, neutrons have an advantage over its two counterparts. The nucleus of an atom has an extremely powerful electrical field that turns away anything with a charge. But since a neutron is missing just that, it does not need to “overcome any electric barrier and is capable of penetrating and splitting the nuclei of even the heaviest elements” (nobelprize.org). With this discovery, Chadwick was able to help plan, design, and help with the creation of the first atomic bomb. http://media-files.gather.com/images/d211/d391/d745/d224/d96/f3/full.jpg