Radiation

History of Nuclear Chemistry (by Megha Dilip)

By timelinenow

  • 1896-Henri Becquerel

    1896-Henri Becquerel
    Henri Becquerel conducted several experiments that lead to the discovery of radioactivity. An example of a radioactive element would be Uranium.

  • 1895- William Rontgen

    1895- William Rontgen
    William Rontgen produced and detected electromagnetic radiation in wavelength range. This would later be coined as X-Rays by Marie Curie.

  • 1898- Marie & Pierre Curie

    1898- Marie & Pierre Curie
    Both Nobel Prize winners (Marie holding the record with the only person to receive two Nobel Prizes in two different subjects-Physics and Chemistry), Marie & Pierre Curie worked together to discover the Polonium (named after their home country, Poland) and Radium. They went on to study the study these radioactive elements in the latter part of their lives.

  • 1906-Geiger,H

    1906-Geiger,H
    Geiger developed an electrical device to click when hit with an alpha particle. The device is called Geiger Counter. This helped improve the precision of alpha particle experiments for decades to come.

  • 1932- James Chadwick

    1932- James Chadwick
    James Chadwick, and English physicist, discovered the proton. The discovery of the neutron lead to the United States starting serious atomic bomb research.

  • 1933- Szilard, L and Enrico Fermi

    1933- Szilard, L and Enrico Fermi
    Szilard discovered the nuclear chain reaction. In 1939, Szilard and Enrico Fermi patented the idea of a nuclear reactor.

  • 1939 - Szilard, L

    1939 - Szilard, L
    Szilard, L wrote the letter for Einstein's signature that resulted in the Manhattan Project.

  • 1942- Oppenheimer and Teller & Ulam

    1942- Oppenheimer and Teller & Ulam
    Oppenheimer,Teller & Ulam joined the Manhattan Project. Teller and Ulman had previously worked together and formed the Teller-Ulam design of thermonuclear weapons. Oppenheimer quoted the Bhagavad Gita: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds" after the Manhattan Project was completed.

  • 1947- Alvarez

    1947- Alvarez
    Created the Proton Accelerator, Giant Bubble Chamber (used to discover subatomic particles),measured the magnetic movement of neutrons, and developed IFF radar beacons. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his contribution to Physics.

  • 1949- Libby, W.F

    1949- Libby, W.F
    Libby developed radiocarbon dating which revolutionized, archeology, paleontology, and nuclear chemistry.