atomic age

noun

1. the period in history initiated by the first use of the atomic bomb and characterized by atomic energy as a military, political, and industrial factor.

atomic age

noun

1. the atomic age
   the current historical period, initiated by the development of the first atomic bomb towards the end of World War II and now marked by a balance of power between nations possessing the hydrogen bomb and the use of nuclear power as a source of energy

Word History and Origins

Origin of atomic age¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

These titles informed by the horrors of the Atomic Age featured recognizable American landmarks going up in smoke.

From Salon

“Oppenheimer” was the epic, deadly earnest biopic of the reluctant father of the atomic age.

From Los Angeles Times

“When Hollywood did handle the atomic age, it was handled not in a straightforward, realistic way, but in a fantastic way, allegorical and metaphorical and often through monsters,” said Hirsch, author of “Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties,” in a recent video interview.

From Los Angeles Times

The robot bartender, for instance, is a common character used to signal this reality, one thought to have been originally popularized in “The Stars My Destination,” Alfred Bester’s 1956 novel written at the height of the Atomic Age.

From Salon

Only seven lawmakers in the entire Congress had any idea that they were approving $800 million — the equivalent of $13.6 billion today — to create a weapon of mass destruction that would soon kill and maim more than 200,000 people, ushering in the atomic age.

From New York Times