Atomic energy

Atomic energy or energy of atoms is energy carried by atoms. The term originated in 1903 when Ernest Rutherford began to speak of the possibility of atomic energy.[1] The term was popularized by H. G. Wells in the phrase, "splitting the atom", devised at a time prior to the discovery of the nucleus. Atomic energy may include:

• Nuclear binding energy, the energy required to split a nucleus of an atom.
• Nuclear potential energy, the potential energy of the particles inside an atomic nucleus.
• Nuclear reaction, a process in which nuclei or nuclear particles interact, resulting in products different from the initial ones; see also nuclear fission and nuclear fusion.
• Radioactive decay, 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.

Atomic energy is the source of nuclear power, which uses sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity.