When did we stop talking about "atomic" energy and "atomic" bombs and start talking about "nuclear" energy and "nuclear" bombs? And why?
The "atomic"=>"nuclear" switch happened in late 1950s, around period of thermonuclear weapons and nuclear power: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=atomic%2C+nuclear&year_start=1945&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2Catomic%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cnuclear%3B%2Cc0 …
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Also coinciding with massive buildup of US nuclear weapons in the late 1950s, when production soared from hundreds to thousands per year.pic.twitter.com/MumcAU1LQ9
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Switch looks pretty gradual. Lines up w atomic vs nuclear physics. Maybe 'nuclear energy/bomb' too obscure initially?
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Ngram effect not there for 'atomic physics' vs 'nuclear physics' or 'atomic bomb' vs 'nuclear bomb'.
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