How do you think scientist came to learn that they could release energy by splitting the atom?

i assume you mean splitting the *nucleus*.

once Rutherford realized that all of the positive charge of the atom was concentrated in a very very small volume, then it was clear that something wierd was going on.

clearly the force that was holding the nucleus together must be very strong in order to hold all those protons together in such a small volume *despite* their electrical repulsion.

and like any bond, energy can be released by breaking it. that is what fire is - the energy release as light & heat from molecular bonds.

so, once the basic structure of the atom became clearer (thanks to rutherford and his alpha particle scattering experiment), then the existence of the "strong force" became clear.

it was then just a question of how to do release this energy, which they had all worked out within a few decades after rutherford....

Radioactive substances give off heat (are warmer than the environment.) When scientists looked for the source they found that atoms were breaking down and it became a matter finding out what man needed to do to enhance the process and keep it under control

following what wjllope said after rutherford einstain came up with his E=mc^2 you may have heard of it,

he did not think it, in fact it was groups of military scientists who saw the implications of E=mc^2 to split the atom...

most historians theorize, because einstein was so distrot with the atom bomb, that had he had though of its possible repercutions as a weapon einstein may not have released his research in order for the bomb to not become a reality.

don't you love phys?