1988

Vol. 30-4

1988.12

The "Atomium" in Brussels marks its 30th anniversary in 1988. Inaugurated in 1958 as the symbol of the Brussels World Exhibit, the Atomium represents the atoms of the iron molecule. Each.of the nine spheres is 18 metres in diameter; the top one serves as a restaurant. The year 1988 also marks the anniversary of the discovery of nuclear fission. Fifty years ago, on 17 December 1938, German scientists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann, working in Berlin, split the nucleus of the uranium atom. (Credit: INBEL, Brussels)