Albert Einstein's birthdate was less than a week ago, on March 14, in the year 1879. Happy belated birthday, Albert!
On February 11, 1939, a Letter to the Editor titled "Disintegration of Uranium by Neutrons: a New Type of Nuclear Reaction" appeared in the science journal Nature. The letter provided the first theoretical explanation for the splitting of the atom, and coined a new term in physics: fission. The woman who co-authored the letter, and co-discovered the power of nuclear energy, is perhaps not quite as well-known as some of her contemporaries. Elise Meitner-how could hers not be a household name?
An advanced reactor could be used to consume 112 tonnes of weapons grade material
Sixty years ago on December 20, scientists and engineers in Arco, Idaho,
December 15, 1852, was the birthday of French physicist Antoine Henri Becquerel, who discovered a completely unknown property of matter in March 1896.
And wins a Nobel Prize
Sir James Chadwick, born 120 years ago on October 20, 1891, made one of the most significant discoveries of our age by proving the existence of neutrons.
September 12, 2011 marks the 114th year since the birth of Irène Joliot-Curie, daughter of the powerhouse early nuclear researchers Marie Curie and Pierre Curie.
Victor Francis Hess was awarded a Nobel Prize in physics for discovering "cosmic rays." Hess did some of his research in a very bold manner-here's some of his story.
Today is the 100th anniversary of the publishing of Ernest Rutherford's revolutionary article, "The Scattering of α and β Particles by Matter and the Structure of the Atom," which appeared in Philosophical Magazine (Series 6 21: 669-688). In the article, Rutherford explained his astonishing and profound discovery that atoms consist of a small and dense nucleus surrounded by electrons.