I'm looking for history of science sources that parse progress into (1) fundamental scientific discoveries followed by (2) applications of the discoveries, or engineering. Does anyone know any? I'm trying to understand how (1) leads to (2).

by dumbo_elephant
dumbo_elephant

For example, in the early 1900s we discovered the atomic nucleus, then in 1938 we found that you could split uranium. This was fundamental science. By 1945 we had a very successful application with the atom bomb, but that would not have been possible without the discoveries of 1938 and before. I am especially interested in how long it takes to go from fundamental discoveries to practical applications.