nuclear physics

Traces scientists' quest to find the elusive unified "Theory of Everything" from ancient Greece to the breakthroughs of Newton, Maxwell, and Einstein, to the excitement over string theory and today's efforts to merge quantum theory with general relativity.

Profiles seven people--including Marie Curie, Enrico Fermi, Robert Oppenheimer, and Andrei Sakharov--whose study of the atom has shaped the field of nuclear science during the twentieth century.

Traces the research that led to the discovery of radioactivity and profiles the lives and works of key scientists who were involved in that research.

Introduces basic theories about the nature and behavior of the atom and the field of nuclear physics.