The history of nuclear science dates back to the late 19th century when scientists

began to discover and study the properties of atomic particles. In 1895, German
physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered X-rays, which were found to be
capable of passing through solid objects and producing images of bones and
internal organs. This discovery sparked interest in the study of atomic particles and
their behavior.

In 1896, French physicist Antoine-Henri Becquerel discovered natural radioactivity,

the spontaneous emission of radiation from certain elements. Becquerel's discovery
led to the study of radioactivity and its properties, which ultimately led to the
discovery of new elements such as radium and polonium.

In the early 1900s, Ernest Rutherford, a New Zealand-born physicist working in

Canada, began studying the properties of radioactive particles. In 1911, he proposed
the model of the atomic nucleus, which suggested that the nucleus of an atom was a
small, dense, positively charged center surrounded by negatively charged electrons.

During the 1930s, nuclear science made significant advances with the discovery of
nuclear fission, the process of splitting an atomic nucleus into smaller fragments. This
discovery was made by German scientists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann, and later
confirmed by Lise Meitner and her nephew Otto Frisch. Their discovery of nuclear
fission led to the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.