Golden Age of Modern Physics

The Golden Age of Modern Physics lasted from the 1880s to 1945, with a paradigm shift in physics, with the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics, leading up to the first atomic bomb.

Many of the celebrity scientists won the Nobel Prize for physics. The era represented a transition of research from individual scientists to the "big science" from World War II and onwards.

See nuclear tourism for nuclear sites past World War II.

Understand
By the late 19th century, the theories of mechanics and electromagnetism were seen as completed. As in many other times in history of physics, there were still unresolved problems and paradoxes; such as the nature of light and other electro-magnetic radiation. It was believed to be carried by the aether, an invisible matter that fills the universe. The 1880s Michelson-Morley experiments failed to measure the aether's effect on the speed of light. In the 1890s, radioactivity was discovered by Henri Becquerel and Marie Curie. The theory of relativity and quantum physics were developed in the early 20th century to describe the relationship between space, time, radiation, and elementary particles.

Besides nuclear technology, modern physics got applications in spaceflight, navigation and electronics, among other fields.