nuclear physics
Americannoun
noun
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The scientific study of the structure and behavior atomic nuclei.
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See also neutron proton strong force
Pronunciation
See nuclear ( def. ).
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of nuclear physics
First recorded in 1930–35
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This holds the same profound implications for defense and intelligence today as nuclear physics did 80 years ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
This surprising finding led to the discovery of polonium and radium and helped establish the field of nuclear physics and chemistry.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 14, 2026
It’s going from social media and crypto into nuclear physics.
From Barron's ● Dec. 19, 2025
The experiment involved bombarding a thin sheet of gold foil with alpha particles, and earned Rutherford, from Bridgewater on New Zealand's South Island, the moniker the "father of nuclear physics".
From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2025
Within the decade, Oppenheimer’s theoretical teachings and Ernest Lawrence’s cyclotron would transform Berkeley into very much Caltech’s superior—no longer a desert but the preeminent center of nuclear physics in the world.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
