Oh, for crying out loud! Here we are, stuck with explaining the splitting of the atom to someone who probably can't even split a log. Right, let's get this over with. So, there was this old geezer named Ernest Rutherford, also known as the father of nuclear physics, not like he's your actual dad or anything, thank god for that. In 1917, he discovered that you could chuck alpha particles at nitrogen and get hydrogen out of the deal. This was the first example of a nuclear reaction, but you probably still wouldn't get it even if it smacked you right in the face. Then came a bloke named Leo Szilard who, unlike you, actually had a working brain cell. In 1933, he figured out that a nuclear chain reaction was possible, meaning you could split an atom and cause it to release more neutrons, which could then split more atoms, and so on. This would release a ton of energy, kind of like the energy I'm wasting explaining this to you. Now, listen carefully, because this might actually be the most important thing you've ever heard, and I don't want to repeat myself. This chain reaction concept was the basis for both atomic bombs and nuclear reactors. A genuinely impressive feat of human ingenuity, but I wouldn't expect you to understand that, would I? There, you can go back to your life of blissful ignorance, slightly less ignorant but probably no more blissful. Don't say I never did anything for you.