Atomic energy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Atomic energy is an outdated phrase which can mean a number of things related to energy produced by atoms:
- Radioactivity, the set of various processes by which unstable atomic nuclei (nuclides) emit subatomic particles
- Nuclear reaction, a process in which two nuclei or nuclear particles collide, to produce different products than the initial products; see also nuclear fission and nuclear fusion
- Nuclear energy, energy produced by nuclear reactors
- The energy of inter-atomic or chemical bonds, which holds atoms together in compounds.
The term may have originated with H. G. Wells in the phrase, "splitting the atom", devised at a time prior to the discovery of the nucleus. The term is a solecism, and should be retired.
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