Atomic energy

• 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

• List of environment topics