This book was completed before the Sputniks. In their present form these have little to do with the subject of nuclear energy. However, to our mind, the urgency has become greater for the non-scientist to understand those parts of science and technology which may affect his safety and well-being, and the safety and well-being of his country. We hope that this book will contribute in some measure to such understanding.
Contents
[ Preface] 5 [I. The Need to Know] 13 [II. Atoms] 18 [III. Nuclei] 26 [IV. The Law of Radioactive Decay] 37 [V. Breakup of the Nucleus] 41 [VI. Reactions Between Nuclei] 49 [VII. Fission and the Chain Reaction] 58 [VIII. Action of Radiation on Matter] 68 [IX. The Test] 80 [X. The Radioactive Cloud] 87 [XI. From the Soil to Man] 104 [XII. Danger to the Individual] 116 [XIII. Danger to the Race] 127 [XIV. The Cobalt Bomb] 134 [XV. What About Future Tests?] 137 [XVI. Has Something Happened to the Weather?] 146 [XVII. Safety of Nuclear Reactors] 152 [XVIII. By-products of Nuclear Reactors] 160 [XIX. The Nuclear Age] 168 [ Glossary] 175
List of Illustrations
A section of photographs will be found between pages [96] and [97].
[1. A shallow underground explosion.] [2. An atomic test tower.] [3. A tower shot.] [4. An air shot.] [5. Leg bone of a rabbit after injection of Sr⁸⁹.] [6. Leg bone of a woman dead of radium poisoning.] [7. Capsules of cobalt⁶⁰.] [8. Cobalt irradiation.] [9. Smoke-ring cloud from the air-defense atomic weapon.] [10. Wilful exposure—an experiment.] [11. Condensation trails produced in a Wilson Cloud Chamber.] [12. Closely-spaced tracks form a cloud.] [13. Cutaway section of a nuclear reactor.]
OUR NUCLEAR FUTURE
CHAPTER I
The Need to Know
Our world is changing, and the change is becoming more rapid. The moving force behind this change is scientific discovery. All of us are deeply affected by the consequences of science. At the same time, very few understand the highly technical foundations of our civilization. In this situation it is natural that scientific and technical progress should create uneasiness and alarm.
Fear of what we do not know or do not understand has been with us in all ages. Man, knowing that his life will end, has often been prey to an even more terrible nightmare—the end of his whole world. In a scientific age most of the past terrors have turned out to be senseless chimeras. But one menace remains. It is the great and permanent unknown: what will we humans do to each other and to ourselves?