the.com/nucleon
Protons and neutrons, the bureaucrats who actually run the atom while electrons get the press.
means A nucleon is a proton or neutron — the particles that pack together to form an atomic nucleus.
from Built from 'nucleus' (Latin nucleus, 'kernel' or 'little nut,' from nux, 'nut') plus the physics suffix '-on' used for naming particles, as in electron and proton. Coined in the 20th century once physicists realized protons and neutrons behave as a kind of matched set — interchangeable under the strong nuclear force — and needed one word to cover both.
- mass hog
- over 99.9 percent of atomic mass lives here
- glue needed
- strong force overcomes proton-proton electric repulsion
- shared identity
- same particle, different isospin states, physicists insist
- quark count
- each nucleon hides three quarks inside