Sun Apr 13 18:57:00 UTC 2025: ## Atom Splitting Pioneers Honored on Anniversary of Landmark Achievement
**Chennai, April 14, 2025** – The 93rd anniversary of the first artificially induced nuclear transmutation was marked today. On April 14, 1932, physicists John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton achieved the groundbreaking feat of splitting a lithium atom using a proton beam at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge. This accomplishment, which earned them the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1951, is highlighted today in *The Hindu*.
The article details the lives and careers of Cockcroft and Walton, tracing their paths from varied educational backgrounds to their pivotal collaboration under the mentorship of Ernest Rutherford. Cockcroft, trained in mathematics and electrical engineering, brought practical experience from Metropolitan Vickers, while Walton, a physics graduate from Trinity College, Dublin, provided crucial experimental expertise.
Their success, achieved using a Cockcroft-Walton generator – a device they designed and built themselves – involved overcoming significant technical hurdles. The scientists initially employed a 280 keV proton beam, later demonstrating the feat with lower energy beams. The experiment’s success was confirmed by the observation of alpha particles emitted from the split lithium nucleus, causing a zinc sulphide screen to glow.
Their research paper, “Disintegration of lithium by swift protons,” was published in *Nature* just days after the successful experiment. The Cockcroft-Walton generator design, based on the ladder-cascade voltage multiplier principle, remains relevant in physics laboratories worldwide.
The article also touches upon Cockcroft’s significant contributions to the post-war development of nuclear energy, including his role in establishing the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell and his crucial collaboration with Indian physicist Homi Bhabha in the early stages of India’s nuclear program. Both men were noted for their dedication and vision in a field that has profoundly impacted the world.
First Piper 