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proton

proton

63 4.5
A very small part of an atom with a positive charge located in the center
  • noun
  • /ˈproʊtɒn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : protón
  • Light elements by contrast have very few nucleons, protons or neutrons in the nucleus.
  • protons and neutrons
  • protons and electrons
  • proton in nucleus

For example, the mass of a proton is.

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Examples

  • The solid lines represent the paths of protons; the dashed lines represent the paths of electrons.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Although they had different electric charges, the proton and neutron had remarkably similar masses.

    Academic text (2012)
  • It has one proton and one electron.

  • It consists of just a single proton in its nucleus.

  • Well, atoms are actually made of smaller components, protons, neutrons, and electrons.

  • Okay, so a neutral chlorine atom has 17 protons and 17 electrons.

  • At several points around the sixteen-mile tunnel, two beams of protons are crashed into each other.

    Academic text (2008)
  • The experimenters expected one peak due to the proton resonance, but instead found six peaks in that vicinity.

    Academic text (1993)
  • This forces electrons into the atomic nuclei, where they turn protons into neutrons.

  • Atoms of the same element always have the same number of protons in their nucleus.

Compounds

proton accelerator
  • Specialized
1 6.8

A machine that makes protons move very fast to hit other particles

5.3

A method using a strong magnet and radio waves to make images of body parts or molecules

proton synchrotron
  • Specialized
8.5

A machine that makes protons travel very fast around a ring

How Small

quark
  • Specialized
14 9.9
electron
  • Specialized
100 3.7
proton
  • Specialized
63 4.5
atom
  • Specialized
170 3.5
molecule
  • Specialized
209 3.4

Surface Forms

proton singular
protons plural

Etymology

Proton comes from the Greek word protos and the prefix proto-, both meaning 'first', and you can see the same root in prototype. Scientists gave it this name because a proton is the 'first' basic particle in an atom's nucleus — hydrogen has one proton, and the number of protons decides the element.