Neutrons are neutral, as its name implies. A stable atom has a net charge of 0. In other words, it has an equal number of protons and electrons. The positive protons cancel out the negative electrons.

Protons are about 99.86% as massive as neutrons according to the Jefferson Lab. The number of protons in an atom is unique to each element.

The center of an atom, called its nucleus, consists of positively charged protons and uncharged neutrons stuck together, kind of like a droplet of water.

Try to keep the same number of neutrons and protons as you build your atom. If the imbalance is too great, radioactive decay will occur. Carbon-14, to take one example, is unstable.

Isotopes are atoms with the same number of protons and electrons, but different numbers of neutrons. These slight differences in mass can affect how electrons experience forces within the atom.

The number of protons is what defines the element. Oxygen, for example, has eight protons. However, the number of neutrons in an atom can vary, leading to different forms of elements, called isotopes.

Each distinct chemical element is characterized by a specific number of protons, but can have varying numbers of neutrons. These different versions of an element are called isotopes.

In the end, the team observed that as the number of neutrons in an atom's nucleus increased, the probability of protons having high energies (and having paired up with a neutron) also increased ...

Scientists have long wondered whether there is a limit to the number of protons and neutrons that can be clustered together to form the nucleus of an atom. A new study comes closer than ever to ...

Isotopes of each element contain the same number of protons, but a different number of neutrons. The more neutrons that are added to an element, the "heavier" it is.