Researched
Nuclear Physics
From radioactivity (1896) and the atomic nucleus (1911) to nuclear fission (1938): the discovery of the energy inside atoms.
Open in the interactive tree →Becquerel and the Curies found radioactivity; Rutherford showed in 1911 that atoms have a tiny dense nucleus; Chadwick discovered the neutron in 1932. Hahn and Strassmann found fission in December 1938, and Meitner and Frisch explained it with E = mc^2. The consequences were nuclear weapons (1945), nuclear power, medical isotopes and radiometric dating.
Prerequisites
- Electromagnetism1831-1865
- Radioactivity1896Radioactivity was the starting point of nuclear physics
- Theory of Relativity1905
- Nucleus & Bohr Atom1911Rutherford's nucleus is the starting point of nuclear physics
- Quantum Mechanics1925
Unlocks
- Fusion Powers the Stars1939
- First Nuclear Reactor (CP-1)1942
- Manhattan Project1942-1945
- Radiocarbon Dating1949
- CERN1954
- Nuclear Power1954
- Nuclear-Powered Submarine1954
- Radiometric age of the Earth1956
- Pulsars1967
- Tokamak & Stellarator1968
- CT and MRI scanning1971
- Standard Model of Particles1973
- Deep-space probes (Voyager)1977Voyager's power comes from radioisotope generators built on nuclear decay
- Neutrino Oscillations1998
- Neutrino Mass Below 0.45 eV2025
- Final disposal of nuclear wasteopen
- Radiation and life supportopen