Discovery of the Neutron
1932Chadwick, "The Existence of a Neutron" (Proceedings of the Royal Society A 136, 692-708, 1 June 1932; DOI 10.1098/rspa.1932.0112), the full treatment establishing that the radiation ejected from beryllium by alpha particles is a neutral particle of roughly proton mass rather than gamma radiation. The neutron carries no charge, so it can enter a nucleus without electrostatic repulsion -- which is why neutron bombardment became the experimental method that later produced and revealed fission. Chadwick's earlier Nature letter (February 1932) is not the anchored landmark; this node is anchored to the Proc. R. Soc. A paper. Not itself about fission -- it is the enabling particle discovery for the chain below.
Originators
- James Chadwick
Landmark Paper
Checked 2026-10-18 — interim signal only, see docs/BASIC_ROADMAP.md Phase 10
Connections
- is precursor to Radiochemical Detection of Barium from Neutron-Irradiated Uraniumbasis: reasoned
Hahn and Strassmann's experiment is neutron bombardment of uranium; the neutron (Chadwick 1932) is the particle that made that experimental method possible, since a neutral particle reaches the nucleus without electrostatic repulsion. Methodological dependency stated in the 1939 paper's title (Bestrahlung des Urans mittels Neutronen).
Cross-Domain Connections
No verified cross-domain connections indexed for Discovery of the Neutron yet. Verified links are admitted under FSTP epistemic audit standards.