A neutron is an uncharged particle with the same spin as an electron and with mass slightly greater than a proton mass. In free space it decays into a proton, an electron, and an antineutrino and has a half-life of about 12–13 minutes, which is so large compared with lifetimes of interactions with nuclei that the particle disappears predominantly by such interactions.

Neutron beams may be produced in a variety of ways. A modern method is to extract a high-intensity beam from a nuclear reactor. A simpler but expensive device is one that employs a mixture of radium and beryllium. The reaction of the alpha (α) particles emitted by the radium with beryllium nuclei produces a copious output of neutrons. The neutron is a major nuclear constituent and is responsible for nuclear binding. A free neutron interacts with nuclei in a variety of ways, depending on its velocity and the nature of the target. Ordinary interactions include scattering (elastic and inelastic), absorption, and capture by nuclei to produce new elements. Unlike the electron, a neutron loses energy significantly through elastic collisions, because its mass is comparable to masses of atoms of low atomic number. (According to the laws of mechanics, in elastic collision, on the average, an object loses half its energy to another object of equal mass.)

The average fraction of energy transferred from a neutron per collision, symbolized by (Δ E/E)_av, is twice the atomic mass number (A) of the struck atom divided by the square of the mass number plus one; i.e.,

Thus, only 18, 25, 42, 90, and 114 collisions are required to thermalize (reduce the energy of motion to that of the surrounding atoms) a fast neutron in hydrogen, deuterium, helium, beryllium, and carbon, respectively.

Pure absorption does not result in a new element, even though it is sometimes accompanied by emission of gamma rays. In certain cases of capture, radioactivity follows, often with production of beta (β) particles. In another class of interaction, a heavy charged particle is ejected (such as an α-particle or proton); the resultant nucleus is often but not always radioactive. As an example, the reaction of neutrons on boron to produce alpha particles provides the basis for alpha-particle welding. The principle of such welding, invented by the Soviet chemist V.I. Goldansky, is to deposit a thin layer of a boron (or lithium) compound in the interface between diverse materials, which is thereafter irradiated with neutrons. The high-energy α-particles produced from the nuclear reaction weld the materials together.

Extraordinary interactions of the neutron are represented by diffraction, nuclear fission, and nuclear fusion. Diffraction, exhibited by low-energy neutrons (approximately equal to or less than 0.05 eV), demonstrates their wave nature and is consistent with de Broglie’s hypothesis of the wave character of matter. Neutron diffraction complements X-ray technique in locating the positions of atoms in molecules and crystals, especially atoms of low atomic number such as hydrogen. Fission is the breakup of a heavy nucleus (either spontaneously or under the impact, for example, of a neutron) into two smaller ones with liberation of energy and neutrons. Spontaneous-fission rates and cross sections of fission induced by agencies other than the neutron are so small that in most applications only neutron-induced fission is important. Also, the neutron-induced-fission cross section depends on the particular isotope (species of an element with the same atomic number and similar chemical behaviour but different atomic mass) involved and the neutron energy. The fission process itself generates fast neutrons, which, when suitably slowed down by elastic scattering (a process called moderation), are again ready to induce more fission. The ratio of neutrons produced to neutrons absorbed is called the reproduction factor. When that factor exceeds unity, a chain reaction may be started, which is the basis of nuclear-power reactors and other fission devices. The chain is terminated by a combination of adventitious absorption, leakage, and other reactions that do not regenerate a neutron. At the power level at which a reactor operates, the loss rate always balances the generation rate through fission. The Hungarian-born American physicist Eugene P. Wigner, in the course of consideration of the possible effects of fast neutrons, suggested in 1942 that the process of energy transfer by collision from neutron to atom might result in important physical and chemical changes. The phenomenon, known as the Wigner effect and sometimes as a “knock on” process, was actually discovered in 1943 by the American chemists Milton Burton and T.J. Neubert and found to have profound influences on graphite and other materials.