Nuclear Fission

Nuclear fission is a process in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller nuclei, releasing a significant amount of energy used to generate electricity in nuclear power plants.

Physics

Hidden chemistry of nuclear fallout glimpsed in recent experiments

A new study shows that a material's “thermal history” is critical in shaping how its chemistry evolves in complex systems such as nuclear debris.
Chemistry

New cage-like crystal found in the waste of the world’s first nuclear explosion

More than 80 years after the world-famous Trinity test showed humanity what to expect from an atomic detonation, researchers are still sifting new discoveries out of its twisted remains.
Environment

Earth built a nuclear reactor two billion years before we did

Two billion years before we made history and split the atom, the Earth had already accomplished it and was running its own nuclear reactors. And they operated for hundreds of thousands of years, as the first signs of multicellular life emerged.