James Chadwick - GCSE Chemistry Definition

Reviewed by: Richard Boole

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James Chadwick was a famous British scientist who is well-known for discovering the neutron in 1932. Neutrons are particles with no charge, and they are found in the nucleus of an atom along with protons. This discovery was important because it helped scientists understand more about the structure of atoms. Before Chadwick's work, people only knew about protons and electrons, which are other particles inside an atom, and his discovery explained why atoms had more mass than expected and led to further developments in nuclear science, including how energy can be produced from atoms. His work played a key role in advancing our understanding of chemistry and physics.

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Richard Boole

Reviewer: Richard Boole

Expertise: Chemistry Content Creator

Richard has taught Chemistry for over 15 years as well as working as a science tutor, examiner, content creator and author. He wasn’t the greatest at exams and only discovered how to revise in his final year at university. That knowledge made him want to help students learn how to revise, challenge them to think about what they actually know and hopefully succeed; so here he is, happily, at SME.

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