Beyond the nucleus

Discoveries made in the golden age of nuclear physics, the 1930s and 1940s, have profoundly transformed the world's more economically developed societies. It is often said that, since then, the basic processes of nuclear physics – fission, radioactivity, fusion – have become problems for engineers rather than scientists. I would like to argue that this is no longer true and that, in future, a vigorous commitment will be needed from our research laboratories to meet changing social, political and environmental demands.