2. Nuclear alchemy

‘Nuclear alchemy’ outlines the further discoveries of protons (the carriers of positive charge in atoms) by Ernest Rutherford and neutrons (particles with no electrical charge) by James Chadwick, which led to the further explanation of atomic structure. It also describes transmutation; isotopes; gamma radioactivity; sources of radioactivity; nuclear energy scales and units; the work of Irene and Frédéric Joliot-Curie on induced radioactivity and nuclear fission; and energy waves and resolution. It was in 1932 that John Cockroft and Ernest Walton made the first nuclear particle accelerator and created a practical tool for investigating the structure of the atomic nucleus.