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The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , with no net electric charge and a mass slightly larger than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons, each with mass approximately one atomic mass unit, constitute the nucleus of an atom, and they are collectively referred to as nucleons. Their properties and interactions are described by nuclear physics. The nucleus consists of Z protons, where Z is called the atomic number, and N neutrons, where N is the neutron number. The atomic number defines the chemical properties of the atom, and the neutron number determines the isotope or nuclide. The terms isotope and nuclide are often used synonymously, but they refer to chemical and nuclear properties, respectively. The atomic mass number, symbol A, equals Z+N. For example, carbon has atomic number 6, and its abundant carbon-12 isotope has 6 neutrons, whereas its rare carbon-13 isotope has 7 neutrons. Some elements occur in nature with only one stable isotope, such as fluorine (see stable nuclide). Other elements occur as many stable isotopes, such as tin with ten stable isotopes. Even though it is not a chemical element, the neutron is included in the table of nuclides.〔(Nudat 2 ). Nndc.bnl.gov. Retrieved on 2010-12-04.〕 Within the nucleus, protons and neutrons are bound together through the nuclear force, and neutrons are required for the stability of nuclei. Neutrons are produced copiously in nuclear fission and fusion. They are a primary contributor to the nucleosynthesis of chemical elements within stars through fission, fusion, and neutron capture processes. The neutron is essential to the production of nuclear power. In the decade after the neutron was discovered in 1932,〔 〕 neutrons were used to effect many different types of nuclear transmutations. With the discovery of nuclear fission in 1938,〔. The authors were identified as being at the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Chemie, Berlin-Dahlem. Received 22 December 1938.〕 it was quickly realized that, if a fission event produced neutrons, each of these neutrons might cause further fission events, etc., in a cascade known as a nuclear chain reaction.〔 These events and findings led to the first self-sustaining nuclear reactor (Chicago Pile-1, 1942) and the first nuclear weapon (Trinity, 1945). Free neutrons, or individual neutrons free of the nucleus, are effectively a form of ionizing radiation, and as such, are a biological hazard, depending upon dose.〔 A small natural "neutron background" flux of free neutrons exists on Earth, caused by cosmic ray muons, and by the natural radioactivity of spontaneously fissionable elements in the Earth's crust.〔 〕 Dedicated neutron sources like neutron generators, research reactors and spallation sources produce free neutrons for use in irradiation and in neutron scattering experiments. ==Description== Neutrons and protons are both nucleons, which are attracted and bound together by the nuclear force to form atomic nuclei. The nucleus of the most common isotope of the hydrogen atom (with the chemical symbol "H") is a lone proton. The nuclei of the heavy hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium contain one proton bound to one and two neutrons, respectively. All other types of atomic nuclei are composed of two or more protons and various numbers of neutrons. The most common nuclide of the common chemical element lead, 208Pb has 82 protons and 126 neutrons, for example. The free neutron has a mass of about (equivalent to , or ).〔 The neutron has a mean square radius of about , or 0.8 fm, and it is a spin-½ fermion.〔 〕 The neutron has a magnetic moment with a negative value, because its orientation is opposite to the neutron's spin. The neutron's magnetic moment causes its motion to be influenced by magnetic fields. Although the neutron has no net electric charge, it does have a slight distribution of charge within it. With its positive electric charge, the proton is directly influenced by electric fields, whereas the response of the neutron to this force is much weaker. A free neutron is unstable, decaying to a proton, electron and antineutrino with a mean lifetime of just under 15 minutes (). This radioactive decay, known as beta decay,〔 is possible since the mass of the neutron is slightly greater than the proton. The free proton is stable. Neutrons or protons bound in a nucleus can be stable or unstable, however, depending on the nuclide. Beta decay, in which neutrons decay to protons, or vice versa, is governed by the weak force, and it requires the emission or absorption of electrons and neutrinos, or their antiparticles. Protons and neutrons behave almost identically under the influence of the nuclear force within the nucleus. The concept of isospin, in which the proton and neutron are viewed as two quantum states of the same particle, is used to model the interactions of nucleons by the nuclear or weak forces. Because of the strength of the nuclear force at short distances, the binding energy of nucleons is more than seven orders of magnitude larger than the electromagnetic energy binding electrons in atoms. Nuclear reactions (such as nuclear fission) therefore have an energy density that is more than ten million times that of chemical reactions. Because of the mass–energy equivalence, nuclear binding energies add or subtract from the mass of nuclei. Ultimately, the ability of the nuclear force to store energy arising from the electromagnetic repulsion of nuclear components is the basis for most of the energy that makes nuclear reactors or bombs possible. In nuclear fission, the absorption of a neutron by a heavy nuclide (e.g., uranium-235) causes the nuclide to become unstable and break into light nuclides and additional neutrons. The positively charged light nuclides then repel, releasing electromagnetic potential energy. The neutron is classified as a hadron, since it is composed of quarks, and as a baryon, since it is composed of three quarks.〔 〕 The finite size of the neutron and its magnetic moment indicate the neutron is a composite, rather than elementary, particle. The neutron consists of two down quarks with charge −⅓ ''e'' and one up quark with charge +⅔ ''e'', although this simple model belies the complexities of the Standard Model for nuclei. The masses of the three quarks sum to only about , whereas the neutron's mass is about , for example.〔 Like the proton, the quarks of the neutron are held together by the strong force, mediated by gluons.〔 〕 The nuclear force results from secondary effects of the more fundamental strong force. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「neutron」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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