Neutron dummy explanation

Question

I’m trying to simply things in dummy terms so I remember it easier rather than memorizing a definition I want to understand it on a basic level. A Neutron is an uncharged elementary particle that equals a protons mass in a nucleus this stabilizing it, I also know that in an atom there has to be equal amounts of neutrons and protons, and that the neutrons act as a sort of binder, so what sort of analogy or explanation could be used to describe it? Does a Neutron sort of act like the Mortar for a Brick Structure? Or like the glue that keeps protons from falling apart?

In: 59

Answer 1

There are two fundamental forces that matter on the scale of an atomic nucleus: the electromagnetic force, and the aptly named strong nuclear force.

The electromagnetic force is long range in the same way that gravity is, and it causes the protons to repel each other. For all intents and purposes, it doesn’t care about the neutrons.

The strong force is several times stronger than the repulsion between the protons. It acts on both protons and neutrons to bind them together, and is very short range, like about as far as the proton or neutron next to it.

If you had all protons, their charges would keep them apart, or if there were only two then one of them would turn into a neutron.

As soon as you have neutrons, they can help hold on to the particles next to them, and they also create a little space between the protons. Exactly how many neutrons you need depends on how many protons you have. For light nuclei, it’s about 1:1. For heavy nuclei, you need more neutrons. For really heavy nuclei, they just won’t stay together at all, because all the protons see each other and the neutrons can only deal with what’s right next to them.

You can think of the neutrons as child minders and the protons as kids who want to fight each other. They can only reach the kid right next to them to calm him down, and also it’s a little harder for the kids to get at each other.

Eventually, when there are too many kids, no amount of supervision can keep them in line.