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Accelerating Protons
Many scientific advances, such as the Rutherford Gold Foil Experiment, involved observing accelerated protons. Protons have an atomic electric charge of +1, meaning that it carries the same magnitude of charge as an electron but is positive. Because of their uniform electric charge, protons can be accelerated and steered with electromagnetism. This can be done by directing a beam of protons towards a negative charge, but in particle accelerators the proton stream is more often controlled by the magnitude and orientation of a magnetic field.
Scattering Neutrons
Despite having nearly equal mass as protons, neutrons do not carry an electric charge (hence their "neutral" name). As a result, neutrons cannot be manipulated by electromagnetic fields for scientific experiments. Instead, particle collisions involving neutrons are instigated by creating a "broad band" of neutrons. This is done by colliding an energetic particle with a neutron source, typically an atomic nucleus. This will produce a stream of neutrons with a wide range of energies, but subsequent interactions by the neutrons are analyzed by focusing on neutrons with a predetermined energy.
Binding Protons and Neutrons
Within an atomic nucleus, protons and neutrons are limited to a statistically normal range of motion in order for the atom to remain stable. While the relatively powerful electromagnetic forces make it seem counter-intuitive that protons could be held together in close contact, or that neutrons would be bound to protons, the nucleus remains stable because of the strong nuclear force. The strong nuclear force overpowers the protons push away from each other and also keeps the neutrons within the nucleus. Without being bound an atomic nucleus by the strong nuclear force, in fact, neutrons because unstable and undergo radioactive breakdown called beta decay.
Entropy and Moving Atoms
In addition to their motion as isolated particles or atomic nuclei, protons and neutrons acquire speed as components of moving atoms. When an atom is in motion, the nucleus represents over 99 perecent of the atom's kinetic energy because it is the storehouse of the atom's mass. However, these interactions are driven by the conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy. The motion of atoms is responsible for entropy, which is the measure of disorder in thermodynamics. High entropy, or atoms that are excited to rapid motion, is experienced as heat.