Glossary term: 中子
Description: 中子是一种不带电荷的亚原子粒子。我们周围的所有物质都是由原子构成的，所有原子都具有相同的基本结构：一个由质子和中子组成的微小而致密的原子核，几乎承载了原子的全部质量，周围环绕着电子。质子数就是原子核的 "原子序数"，每个具有特定原子序数的原子对应于一种特定的化学元素，而中子数则决定了原子核代表的元素的同位素。
当一颗质量约为太阳 8 倍或更大的恒星接近生命终点时，其内核会坍缩，引发超新星爆炸，在爆炸过程中，内核中原子核的大部分质子会俘获电子，转化为中子，产生一颗中子星，如果内爆内核中剩余的质量超过约 3 个太阳质量，则会产生一个黑洞。
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Term and definition status: The original definition of this term in English have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher The translation of this term and its definition is still awaiting approval
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