Question

What is the mass of a neutron?

Answer 1

Hint: There are three different subatomic parts inside an atom. They are the protons, electrons and neutrons. Protons are positively charged, electrons are negatively charged and neutrons are uncharged or neutral bodies present in an atom. All these subatomic particles have their masses and charges.

Complete step-by-step solution:
Neutron is a neutral elementary particle that's a constituent of each atomic nucleus except ordinary hydrogen. It has no charge. Neutrons and protons, called nucleons, are bound together within the nucleus, where they account for 99.9 per cent of the atom’s mass. Developments in high-energy physics within the 20th century revealed that neither the neutron nor the proton may be a true elementary particle; rather, they're composites of extremely small elementary particles called quarks. The nucleus is bound together by the residual effect of the strong interaction, an interaction that governs the behaviour of the quarks that structure the individual protons and neutrons.
The mass of neutron in kg:
\[{{m}_{n}}=1.674927471\times {{10}^{-27}}kg\]
The mass of neutrons in a.m.u. (atomic mass unit)
\[m=1.00866491588u\]
The mass of neutron in MeV (Mega electron volt)
\[m=939.5654133MeV/{{c}^{2}}\]
These three masses mentioned here are exactly the same when converted. The different units are made for different calculation perspectives regarding nuclear science. The neutron was discovered in 1932 by physicist James Chadwick. Within a couple of years after this discovery, many investigators throughout the planet were studying the properties and interactions of the particle. It had been found that various elements, when bombarded by neutrons, undergo fission—a sort of natural process that happens when the nucleus of an important element is split into two nearly equal smaller fragments. During this reaction each fissioned nucleus gives off additional free neutrons, also as those sure to the fission fragments. This led to the discovery of neutrons which were concentrated at the centre of the atom.

Note: The mass of a neutron and proton is approximately similar. The charge on a neutron is zero. The charge on an electron and proton is the same in magnitude but opposite in nature so they have opposite signs. Hence, an atom is balanced and does not explode because it has its constituent balanced in the case of charges.