Atomic Energy
2 reference results for: Atomic energy
Columbia Encyclopedia
atomic energy: see nuclear energy.
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Licensed from Columbia University Press
Licensed from Columbia University Press
Wikipedia
Atomic energy is an outdated phrase which can mean a number of things related to energy produced by atoms:
- Nuclear energy, the energy resulting of potential difference of the nuclear force
- 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 reactions are used to produce electrical energy by nuclear reactors
- Radioactivity, the set of various processes by which unstable atomic nuclei (nuclides) emit subatomic particles
- 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.
See also
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Last updated on Thursday May 08, 2008 at 16:28:48 PDT (GMT -0700)
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Thursday May 08, 2008 at 16:28:48 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
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