James Chadwick was a prominent British physicist best known for his discovery of the neutron in 1932, a breakthrough that significantly advanced the understanding of atomic structure. This discovery was crucial because it provided great insight into the makeup of atomic nuclei and explained why atoms have more mass than the total mass of their protons alone would suggest. Chadwick's work played a pivotal role in the development of the atomic model, influencing the fields of nuclear physics and quantum mechanics. This discovery eventually contributed to the development of nuclear energy, and his contributions to science were recognised with the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1935.
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