Contents
James Chadwick
The physicist who discovered the neutron, the electrically neutral particle inside atomic nuclei.
The neutron · Nobel Prize in Physics
- Born
- 20 October 1891
- Birthplace
- United Kingdom
- Died
- 24 July 1974
More people
James Chadwick
James Chadwick’s experiments completed a crucial part of the modern picture of the atom. He later led the British scientific contribution to the Manhattan Project.
Early life
Cheshire
Born in Bollington and educated in Manchester.
Rutherford’s student
Studied physics under Ernest Rutherford before research in Germany.
Career
- 1919
Cambridge
Joined Rutherford at the Cavendish Laboratory after wartime internment.
- 1932
Neutron discovery
Interpreted experimental radiation as neutral particles with substantial mass.
- 1935
Liverpool
Became professor of physics and developed the laboratory.
- 1943
Wartime research
Led the British scientific mission working on the Manhattan Project.
Contributions
The neutron
Established the particle’s existence experimentally.
Nobel Prize in Physics
Recognised the discovery.
Manhattan Project
Led the British mission working on atomic weapons.
Beyond the lab
Wartime internment
Was held in Germany during the First World War.
University leadership
Later became master of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Nobel Prize — biography and research ↗Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory. Attribution · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
