Atomic energy or energy of atoms is energy carried by

atoms Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, an ...

. The term originated in 1903 when

Ernest Rutherford Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937) was a New Zealand physicist who came to be known as the father of nuclear physics. ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' considers him to be the greatest ...

began to speak of the possibility of atomic energy.

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

, ''Atom: Journey Across the Sub-Atomic Cosmos'', New York:1992 Plume, , Page 125

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

atomic nucleus The atomic nucleus is the small, dense region consisting of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom, discovered in 1911 by Ernest Rutherford based on the 1909 Geiger–Marsden gold foil experiment. After the discovery of the neutron i ...

. Atomic energy includes: *

Nuclear binding energy Nuclear binding energy in experimental physics is the minimum energy that is required to disassemble the atomic nucleus, nucleus of an atom into its constituent protons and neutrons, known collectively as nucleons. The binding energy for stable n ...

, the energy required to split a nucleus of an atom. *

Nuclear potential energy In physics, potential energy is the energy held by an object because of its position relative to other objects, stresses within itself, its electric charge, or other factors. Common types of potential energy include the gravitational potentia ...

, the potential energy of the particles inside an atomic nucleus. *

Nuclear reaction In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, a nuclear reaction is a process in which two nuclei, or a nucleus and an external subatomic particle, collide to produce one or more new nuclides. Thus, a nuclear reaction must cause a transformatio ...

, a process in which nuclei or nuclear particles interact, resulting in products different from the initial ones; see also

nuclear fission Nuclear fission is a reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei. The fission process often produces gamma photons, and releases a very large amount of energy even by the energetic standards of radio ...

and

nuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei are combined to form one or more different atomic nuclei and subatomic particles ( neutrons or protons). The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifest ...

. *

Radioactive decay Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consid ...

, the set of various processes by which unstable atomic nuclei (nuclides) emit subatomic particles. * The energy of inter-atomic or

chemical bond A chemical bond is a lasting attraction between atoms or ions that enables the formation of molecules and crystals. The bond may result from the electrostatic force between oppositely charged ions as in ionic bonds, or through the sharing of ...

s, which holds atoms together in compounds. Atomic energy is the source of

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

, which uses sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. It is also the source of the explosive force of an

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

References

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References

See also