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# proton

noun (a proton, protons)

«proton» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

(science) A tiny particle with a positive electric charge, found in the nucleus (centre) of every atom. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/proton/#m1)

### In the lessons

In science lessons about atoms, an atom has protons and neutrons in the nucleus and electrons around it. The number of protons decides which element it is: hydrogen has 1, carbon has 6, oxygen has 8, gold has 79. Phrases: «protons, neutrons and electrons», «proton number», «atomic number».

### Examples

- A hydrogen atom has just one proton. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/proton/#x1)
- Protons have a positive charge. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/proton/#x2)
- The number of protons tells you which element it is. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/proton/#x3)
- Carbon has six protons in its nucleus. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/proton/#x4)
- Protons and neutrons are in the nucleus. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/proton/#x5)
- Scientists smash protons together in the Large Hadron Collider. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/proton/#x6)

### Note

Countable. Charges: proton +, electron −, neutron 0. Maths in science: atomic number = number of protons; in a neutral atom, protons = electrons. Protons are much heavier than electrons (about 1836 times).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «proton» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/proton/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«proton» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/proton.html) on Mova free.