Overview

Radioactivity was one of several discoveries made at the turn of the twentieth century that led to revolutionary changes in physics. Unlike some discoveries, it was completely unexpected. The discoverer was looking for something else when he found it, the scientific world initially ignored it, and most of its ramifications were not apparent until much later. As radioactivity gradually transmuted into nuclear physics, its impact reverberated far beyond the confines of physics, forever changing society in its wake. The discovery of radioactivity changed our ideas about matter and energy and of causality's place in the universe. It led to further discoveries and to advances in instrumentation, medicine, and energy production. It increased opportunities for women in science. Radioactivity introduced new health hazards, and its military applications permanently changed world politics. Applications of radioactivity...