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Published online 13 August 2003 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news030811-3
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Key step in atomic physics 100 years ago today
Discovery that radium produces helium ions paved way for nuclear energy exploitation.
One hundred years ago today two chemists found the crucial clue that alpha particles are helium ions. The finding helped reveal the structure of atoms and paved the way for the exploitation - for better or worse - of nuclear energy.
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