Editing Neutron (section)

===Nuclear energy===
Because of the strength of the nuclear force at short distances, the nuclear [[binding energy|energy binding]] nucleons is many orders of magnitude greater than the electromagnetic energy binding electrons in atoms.<ref name="ENW"/>{{rp|4}} In [[nuclear fission]], the absorption of a neutron by some heavy nuclides (such as [[uranium-235]]) can cause the nuclide to become unstable and break into lighter nuclides and additional neutrons.<ref name="ENW"/> The positively charged light nuclides, or "fission fragments", then repel, releasing electromagnetic [[potential energy]].<ref name="Nuclear Energy">{{cite web |last1= |title=Nuclear Energy |url=http://electron6.phys.utk.edu/phys250/modules/module%205/nuclear_energy.htm |website=Physics 250: Modern Physics |publisher=The University of Tennessee Department of Physics and Astronomy |access-date=1 May 2024 |archive-date=20 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220205637/http://electron6.phys.utk.edu/phys250/modules/module%205/nuclear_energy.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> If this reaction occurs within a mass of [[fissile material]], the additional neutrons cause additional fission events, inducing a cascade known as a [[nuclear chain reaction]].<ref name="ENW"/>{{rp|12–13}}  For a given mass of fissile material, such [[nuclear reaction]]s release energy that is approximately ten million times that from an equivalent mass of a conventional chemical [[explosive]].<ref name="ENW"/>{{rp|13}}<ref>A 0.57 kg mass of fissionable material, such as uranium-235, can release an amount of energy equivalent to 10 metric kilotons of TNT. Fissionable material therefore has an energy density approximately 10<sup>7</sup> greater than this conventional explosive.</ref> Ultimately, the ability of the nuclear force to store energy arising from the electromagnetic repulsion of nuclear components is the basis for most of the energy that makes nuclear reactors or bombs possible; most of the energy released from fission is the kinetic energy of the fission fragments.<ref name="Nuclear Energy"/><ref name="ENW"/>{{rp|12}}

The neutron plays an important role in many nuclear reactions. For example, neutron capture often results in [[neutron activation]], inducing [[radioactivity]]. In particular, knowledge of neutrons and their behavior has been important in the development of [[nuclear reactor]]s and [[nuclear weapon]]s. The [[nuclear fission|fissioning]] of elements like [[uranium-235]] and [[plutonium-239]] is caused by their absorption of neutrons.