Medical research

Cause of clogged hypodermic needles discovered

In very rare cases, the needles of prefilled syringes may become blocked. This can have potentially detrimental consequences for patients if their medication does not enter the body or the dosage is too low.

Biomedical technology

Neutrons show how pre-filled syringes clog

Pre-filled syringes are easy to use; they ensure exact dosages, so that patients can conveniently inject their own medications. These syringes have become commonplace in therapies for the widest possible variety of afflictions ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Looking at light radiation to halt viruses in their tracks

Historically, viruses have contributed to the most significant human diseases. They include human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), various influenza viruses and SARS-CoV-2. As one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, ...

Medical research

Research with neutrons for better mRNA medicines

If not before, then certainly since the first messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines to combat the SARS-CoV2 virus were approved in Germany, mRNA has become a recognized term even outside scientific circles. What is less well known ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

NIST clarifies structure of prospective vaccine for respiratory virus

No approved vaccine exists for RSV, a life-threatening virus that attacks the respiratory system. State-of-the-art neutron and X-ray scattering performed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may bring ...

Health

How vitamin E acetate might injure vapers' lungs

E-cigarette, or vaping, associated lung injury (EVALI) has sickened thousands of people, most under the age of 35. Studies have linked vitamin E acetate, an oily substance in some vaping liquids, to the disorder. Now, researchers ...

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Neutron

The neutron is a subatomic hadron particle which has the symbol n or n0, no net electric charge and a mass slightly larger than that of a proton. With the exception of hydrogen, nuclei of atoms consist of protons and neutrons, which are therefore collectively referred to as nucleons. The number of protons in a nucleus is the atomic number and defines the type of element the atom forms. Neutrons are necessary within an atomic nucleus as they bind with protons via the strong force; protons are unable to bind with each other due to their mutual electromagnetic repulsion being stronger than the attraction of the strong force. The number of neutrons is the neutron number and determines the isotope of an element. For example, the abundant carbon-12 isotope has 6 protons and 6 neutrons, while the very rare radioactive carbon-14 isotope has 6 protons and 8 neutrons.

While bound neutrons in stable nuclei are stable, free neutrons are unstable; they undergo beta decay with a mean lifetime of just under 15 minutes (881.5±1.5 s). Free neutrons are produced in nuclear fission and fusion. Dedicated neutron sources like research reactors and spallation sources produce free neutrons for use in irradiation and in neutron scattering experiments. Even though it is not a chemical element, the free neutron is sometimes included in tables of nuclides. It is then considered to have an atomic number of zero and a mass number of one, and is sometimes referred to as neutronium.[citation needed]

The neutron has been the key to nuclear power production. After the neutron was discovered in 1932, it was realized in 1933 that it might mediate a nuclear chain reaction. In the 1930s, neutrons were used to produce many different types of nuclear transmutations. When nuclear fission was discovered in 1938, it was soon realized that this might be the mechanism to produce the neutrons for the chain reaction, if the process also produced neutrons, and this was proven in 1939, making the path to nuclear power production evident. These events and findings led directly to the first man-made nuclear chain reaction which was self-sustaining (Chicago Pile-1, 1942) and to the first nuclear weapons (1945).

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