From Nuclear Transmutation to Nuclear Fission, 1932-1939 deals with a particular phase in the early history of nuclear physics: the race among four laboratory teams to be the first to achieve the transmutation of atomic nuclei with artificially accelerated nuclear projectiles (protons) in high-voltage discharge tubes. This volume covers the background of the development of particle accelerators in the 1920s, the growth of the laboratories and their teams, the race itself, and its aftermath.
The book provides an overview of the history of nuclear physics, from Ernest Rutherford's nuclear atom of 1911 to nuclear fission on the eve of World War II. It focuses on the details of the laboratory "race," which was won by the English team in 1932. The volume also covers the reaction of the different laboratories to the discovery of nuclear fission, their wartime roles, and a brief epilogue on the later careers of the principal personalities.