Author: James Maheffey Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1639360107 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 464
Book Description
From the moment radiation was discovered in the late nineteenth century, nuclear science has had a rich history of innovative scientific exploration and discovery, coupled with mistakes, accidents, and downright disasters. Mahaffey, a long-time advocate of continued nuclear research and nuclear energy, looks at each incident in turn and analyzes what happened and why, often discovering where scientists went wrong when analyzing past meltdowns.Every incident has lead to new facets in understanding about the mighty atom—and Mahaffey puts forth what the future should be for this final frontier of science that still holds so much promise.
Author: Jim Mahaffey Publisher: Open Road Media ISBN: 1480447749 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 631
Book Description
A “delightfully astute” and “entertaining” history of the mishaps and meltdowns that have marked the path of scientific progress (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). Radiation: What could go wrong? In short, plenty. From Marie Curie carrying around a vial of radium salt because she liked the pretty blue glow to the large-scale disasters at Chernobyl and Fukushima, dating back to the late nineteenth century, nuclear science has had a rich history of innovative exploration and discovery, coupled with mistakes, accidents, and downright disasters. In this lively book, long-time advocate of continued nuclear research and nuclear energy James Mahaffey looks at each incident in turn and analyzes what happened and why, often discovering where scientists went wrong when analyzing past meltdowns. Every incident, while taking its toll, has led to new understanding of the mighty atom—and the fascinating frontier of science that still holds both incredible risk and great promise.
Author: Serhii Plokhy Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company ISBN: 1324021055 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 289
Book Description
A chilling account of more than half a century of nuclear catastrophes, by the author of the “definitive” (Economist) Cold War history, Nuclear Folly. Almost 145,000 Americans fled their homes in and around Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in late March 1979, hoping to save themselves from an invisible enemy: radiation. The reactor at the nearby Three Mile Island nuclear power plant had gone into partial meltdown, and scientists feared an explosion that could spread radiation throughout the eastern United States. Thankfully, the explosion never took place—but the accident left deep scars in the American psyche, all but ending the nation’s love affair with nuclear power. In Atoms and Ashes, Serhii Plokhy recounts the dramatic history of Three Mile Island and five more accidents that that have dogged the nuclear industry in its military and civil incarnations: the disastrous fallout caused by the testing of the hydrogen bomb in the Bikini Atoll in 1954; the Kyshtym nuclear disaster in the USSR, which polluted a good part of the Urals; the Windscale fire, the worst nuclear accident in the UK’s history; back to the USSR with Chernobyl, the result of a flawed reactor design leading to the exodus of 350,000 people; and, most recently, Fukushima in Japan, triggered by an earthquake and a tsunami, a disaster on a par with Chernobyl and whose clean-up will not take place in our lifetime. Through the stories of these six terrifying incidents, Plokhy explores the risks of nuclear power, both for military and peaceful purposes, while offering a vivid account of how individuals and governments make decisions under extraordinary circumstances. Today, there are 440 nuclear reactors operating throughout the world, with nuclear power providing 10 percent of global electricity. Yet as the world seeks to reduce carbon emissions to combat climate change, the question arises: Just how safe is nuclear energy?
Author: Eric Schlosser Publisher: Penguin ISBN: 1101638664 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 702
Book Description
The Oscar-shortlisted documentary Command and Control, directed by Robert Kenner, finds its origins in Eric Schlosser's book and continues to explore the little-known history of the management and safety concerns of America's nuclear aresenal. “A devastatingly lucid and detailed new history of nuclear weapons in the U.S. Fascinating.” —Lev Grossman, TIME Magazine “Perilous and gripping . . . Schlosser skillfully weaves together an engrossing account of both the science and the politics of nuclear weapons safety.” —San Francisco Chronicle A myth-shattering exposé of America’s nuclear weapons Famed investigative journalist Eric Schlosser digs deep to uncover secrets about the management of America’s nuclear arsenal. A groundbreaking account of accidents, near misses, extraordinary heroism, and technological breakthroughs, Command and Control explores the dilemma that has existed since the dawn of the nuclear age: How do you deploy weapons of mass destruction without being destroyed by them? That question has never been resolved—and Schlosser reveals how the combination of human fallibility and technological complexity still poses a grave risk to mankind. While the harms of global warming increasingly dominate the news, the equally dangerous yet more immediate threat of nuclear weapons has been largely forgotten. Written with the vibrancy of a first-rate thriller, Command and Control interweaves the minute-by-minute story of an accident at a nuclear missile silo in rural Arkansas with a historical narrative that spans more than fifty years. It depicts the urgent effort by American scientists, policy makers, and military officers to ensure that nuclear weapons can’t be stolen, sabotaged, used without permission, or detonated inadvertently. Schlosser also looks at the Cold War from a new perspective, offering history from the ground up, telling the stories of bomber pilots, missile commanders, maintenance crews, and other ordinary servicemen who risked their lives to avert a nuclear holocaust. At the heart of the book lies the struggle, amid the rolling hills and small farms of Damascus, Arkansas, to prevent the explosion of a ballistic missile carrying the most powerful nuclear warhead ever built by the United States. Drawing on recently declassified documents and interviews with people who designed and routinely handled nuclear weapons, Command and Control takes readers into a terrifying but fascinating world that, until now, has been largely hidden from view. Through the details of a single accident, Schlosser illustrates how an unlikely event can become unavoidable, how small risks can have terrible consequences, and how the most brilliant minds in the nation can only provide us with an illusion of control. Audacious, gripping, and unforgettable, Command and Control is a tour de force of investigative journalism, an eye-opening look at the dangers of America’s nuclear age.
Author: Instaread Summaries Publisher: Instaread Summaries ISBN: Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 47
Book Description
PLEASE NOTE: This is a summary of the book and NOT the original book. Atomic Accidents by James Mahaffey - A 30-minute Instaread Summary Inside this Instaread Summary: • Overview of the entire book • Introduction to the important people in the book • Summary and analysis of all the chapters in the book • Key Takeaways of the book • A Reader's Perspective Preview of this summary: Introduction Water in the form of steam has always intrigued and terrified people. Steam locomotives were fascinating in their heyday. They tended to explode, crash into each other and run off the rails. Some people were so afraid of this technology, they would not ride trains. However, everyone seemed to love watching staged train crashes. This entertainment was popular from the 1890s until the 1930s. One impresario of the staged crash was William “Bill” Crush, an agent for a Texas railroad. Forty thousand people witnessed his first crash staged near Waco in 1896. Crush knew little about the mechanics of steam engines, but insisted his hundred-mile-an-hour crash would be safe. He was wrong. The resulting boiler explosion killed three and injured six. Another promoter, “Head-On” Joe Connelly, was more successful. He staged seventy-three crashes without killing anyone. Unlike Crush, he knew he had to keep the train speed down and hold spectators back. The last staged crash of this type was in 1935. The fear of steam explosions never left the public’s mind. When engineers began developing nuclear power, they believed that steam explosions were the major challenge to safety. Although other methods were investigated, boiling water was, and still is, the cheapest and most reliable way to collect energy produced at a power plant. Therefore, it was not a challenge that could be worked around when designing a nuclear power plant. Additionally, steam from a nuclear plant accident can spread radiation. In fact, during the Cold War, public fear of radiation was more intense than fear of steam locomotives ever was. Chapter 1 In November 1879, three hunters in the Ozarks found a cave filled with a weird vein of silvery-blue metal. They had to flee when they became dizzy, disoriented and short of breath. One of the hunters, Billy Henry, broke out in strange sores. He recovered and the story was forgotten. In Europe, neon lights and X-rays were discovered as scientists unraveled the mysteries of the atom. Radiology was discovered in the United States by Nikola Tesla, but he did not pursue practical applications, so Wilhelm Rontgen of Germany got the honor of introducing radiology to the world. Tesla decided to take another look and stuck his head in an X-ray beam for science. He developed blisters and other wounds. He advised everyone to avoid radiation...
Author: James Mahaffey Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1681774801 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 573
Book Description
Whether you are a scientist or a poet, pro-nuclear energy or staunch opponent, conspiracy theorist or pragmatist, James Mahaffey's books have served to open up the world of nuclear science like never before. With clear explanations of some of the most complex scientific endeavors in history, Mahaffey's new book looks back at the atom's wild, secretive past and then toward its potentially bright future. Mahaffey unearths lost reactors on far flung Pacific islands and trees that were exposed to active fission that changed gender or bloomed in the dead of winter. He explains why we have nuclear submarines but not nuclear aircraft and why cold fusion doesn't exist. And who knew that radiation counting was once a fashionable trend? Though parts of the nuclear history might seem like a fiction mash-up, where cowboys somehow got a hold of a reactor, Mahaffey's vivid prose holds the reader in thrall of the infections energy of scientific curiosity and ingenuity that may one day hold the key to solving our energy crisis or sending us to Mars.
Author: Edward J. Balleisen Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 1107140218 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 593
Book Description
In this book, compelling case studies show how past crises have reshaped regulation, and how policy-makers can learn from crises in the future.
Author: Scott Douglas Sagan Publisher: Princeton University Press ISBN: 0691213062 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 306
Book Description
Environmental tragedies such as Chernobyl and the Exxon Valdez remind us that catastrophic accidents are always possible in a world full of hazardous technologies. Yet, the apparently excellent safety record with nuclear weapons has led scholars, policy-makers, and the public alike to believe that nuclear arsenals can serve as a secure deterrent for the foreseeable future. In this provocative book, Scott Sagan challenges such optimism. Sagan's research into formerly classified archives penetrates the veil of safety that has surrounded U.S. nuclear weapons and reveals a hidden history of frightening "close calls" to disaster.
Author: James Mahaffey Publisher: Pegasus Books ISBN: 9781605981277 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 368
Book Description
“Persuasive and based on deep research. Atomic Awakening taught me a great deal."—Nature The American public's introduction to nuclear technology was manifested in destruction and death. With Hiroshima and the Cold War still ringing in our ears, our perception of all things nuclear is seen through the lens of weapons development. Nuclear power is full of mind-bending theories, deep secrets, and the misdirection of public consciousness, some deliberate, some accidental. The result of this fixation on bombs and fallout is that the development of a non-polluting, renewable energy source stands frozen in time. Outlining nuclear energy's discovery and applications throughout history, Mahaffey's brilliant and accessible book is essential to understanding the astounding phenomenon of nuclear power in an age where renewable energy and climate change have become the defining concerns of the twenty-first century.
Author: James L. Nolan Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 0674248635 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 305
Book Description
An unflinching examination of the moral and professional dilemmas faced by physicians who took part in the Manhattan Project. After his father died, James L. Nolan, Jr., took possession of a box of private family materials. To his surprise, the small secret archive contained a treasure trove of information about his grandfather’s role as a doctor in the Manhattan Project. Dr. Nolan, it turned out, had been a significant figure. A talented ob-gyn radiologist, he cared for the scientists on the project, organized safety and evacuation plans for the Trinity test at Alamogordo, escorted the “Little Boy” bomb from Los Alamos to the Pacific Islands, and was one of the first Americans to enter the irradiated ruins of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Participation on the project challenged Dr. Nolan’s instincts as a healer. He and his medical colleagues were often conflicted, torn between their duty and desire to win the war and their oaths to protect life. Atomic Doctors follows these physicians as they sought to maximize the health and safety of those exposed to nuclear radiation, all the while serving leaders determined to minimize delays and maintain secrecy. Called upon both to guard against the harmful effects of radiation and to downplay its hazards, doctors struggled with the ethics of ending the deadliest of all wars using the most lethal of all weapons. Their work became a very human drama of ideals, co-optation, and complicity. A vital and vivid account of a largely unknown chapter in atomic history, Atomic Doctors is a profound meditation on the moral dilemmas that ordinary people face in extraordinary times.
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Author: James Maheffey
Author: Jim Mahaffey
Author: Serhii Plokhy
Author: Eric Schlosser
Author: Instaread Summaries
Author: James Mahaffey
Author: Edward J. Balleisen
Author: Scott Douglas Sagan
Author: James Mahaffey
Author: James L. Nolan