Atoms for feeding: radioisotopes from the laboratory to the market, 1946–1960

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Second World War was followed by the development of the atom economy. There is no research on radioisotopes in economic and business history. This nuclear commodity stemmed from a related diversification process whose origin lay first in nuclear technology and then in reactors. This paper introduces the first stage of a technological innovation and the emergence phase of the agrarian and agro-industrial side of the businesses arising from the development of nuclear technology. The whole process highlights the early diffusion stage of product and process innovations (radioisotopes or radionuclides) and technology transfer.