Nuclear & Particle Physics

Nuclear Physics: From E=mc² to Fusion Power

“There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement” – Lord Kelvin c. 1900.

Little did Lord Kelvin know that several paradigm-shifting discoveries were just around the corner that would turn the established physics knowledge on its head…

Ernst Rutherford and Frederick Soddy worked together to classify three types of radiation being spontaneously emitted from certain elements. Not only this, but alchemy, which had died with Newton, was back on the table – the elements were transmuting into different elements! Perhaps it would be possible to turn base metals into gold after all?

In 1905 Albert Einstein had his annus mirabilis, and in one of his four foundation-shaking papers he described the equivalence between mass and energy: E=mc^2

It wouldn’t take long before people realised the potential of the energy locked up within the nucleus and the Manhattan project was born through fear the Nazis might develop atomic weapons first.

Radioactive dating of rocks and fossils, and unlocking the mystery of the Sun’s power source would vastly increase the predicted age of the Earth from ~100 millions years to 4.5 billion years. Nuclear power provided an opportunity to get away from burning fossil fuels, but was not without its dangers – however if the power of fusion can be harnessed, that would be a game-changer for climate change!