<P> In the first decades of the 20th century , physics was revolutionised with developments in the understanding of the nature of atoms . In 1898 , Pierre and Marie Curie discovered that pitchblende , an ore of uranium , contained a substance -- which they named radium -- that emitted large amounts of radioactivity . Ernest Rutherford and Frederick Soddy identified that atoms were breaking down and turning into different elements . Hopes were raised among scientists and laymen that the elements around us could contain tremendous amounts of unseen energy , waiting to be harnessed . </P>
<P> In the first decades of the 20th century , physics was revolutionised with developments in the understanding of the nature of atoms . In 1898 , Pierre and Marie Curie discovered that pitchblende , an ore of uranium , contained a substance -- which they named radium -- that emitted large amounts of radioactivity . Ernest Rutherford and Frederick Soddy identified that atoms were breaking down and turning into different elements . Hopes were raised among scientists and laymen that the elements around us could contain tremendous amounts of unseen energy , waiting to be harnessed . </P>
when did the development of nuclear science begin
when did the development of nuclear science begin
1898
1898