No comments about The Physics of Inertial Fusion: Beam Plasma Interaction, Hydrodynamics, Hot Dense Matter (International Series of Monographs on Physics).

2 comments about Tritium on Ice: The Dangerous New Alliance of Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Power.

1. Someone wishing to make a hydrogen bomb needs to obtain some tritium. At the present time, tritium in suitable quantities can only be obtained in the U.S. through the highly guarded nuclear weapons program. In this extraordinarily well written book, Bergeron calls attention to a little-known 1998 decision by then energy secretary Bill Richardson which, when implemented, would shift tritium production to the commercial side of the nuclear industry. One purpose of the great wall that used to separate nuclear power from nuclear weapons was minimizing the chance that third-world countries like Libya could obtain the ingredients to make A-bombs and even the more powerful h-bombs. Bergeron, a nuclear insider, leads his readers through the dark corners and hallways of the nuclear power and nuclear weapons industries. He shows how the great wall would be breached by implementation of this decision. The story is captivating. Bergeron tells it very well. The problem is real. And Bergeron points out that there's still time to do something about it. With the end of the Cold War, the US doesn't need more tritium any time soon.



2. This is a compelling, timely and informative work by a knowledgable insider. Kenneth Bergeron explains in this clear, concise narrative the inner workings of our nuclear establishment and why civilian and military uses had been historically kept separate. A policy that is even more important today. He documents the complex and disturbing process that culminated in a 1998 decision to abandon this vital policy and the underlying factors that subordinated the public interest. This is a "must read" work that will move readers to add their voices to those seeking to reverse a dangerous decision before it is too late.

1 comments about Alternative Energy: Facts, Statistics, and Issues (Alternative Energy).

1. Folks, This is a great read, especially if you are concerned about present day conditions with oil and climate issues. Also feel free to visit: www.callowayengines.com to help with these perplexing problems that are approaching us at a breakneck speed.

4 comments about Megawatts and Megatons: A Turning Point in the Nuclear Age?.

1. If the second sentence of Chapter One is an accurate excerpt from this book, it is seriously flawed:

   Excerpt from Megawatts and Megatons : A Turning Point in the Nuclear Age

   Chapter 1

   ATOMS, ELECTRONS, AND NUCLEI

   All matter is an assembly of atoms. A liter of water, for example, contains about 1026 atoms of hydrogen and oxygen.

   Please, tell me it isn't so. If it were, we'd be able to see those atoms, wouldn't we?




2. Although its authors fail to recognize that worldwide oil+natural gas extraction will certainly peak before 2015, this book is very timely. Garwin & Charpak write (p. 246) "We believe that one of the highest duties of society as a whole is to assess and to choose its destiny. In this book our goal is less to prescribe than to inform our readers of the options as we see them ... In considering nuclear energy we do not in any way intend to denigrate other approaches to providing for the needs of society -- including renewable energy, improved efficiency to reduce energy needs, and the like. Nevertheless, all these options will have direct and indirect effects on the environment." Nuclear power for electricity generation is one of their threads, the other is weapons and arms control which Garwin has worked on for many years mostly to point out the futility of defense against weapons not delivered by missiles and against missiles after decoys are deployed.

   The book compares the success of nuclear power-plants in France (where reactors produce 80% of the electricity) with the perceived failures in execution in the US. The authors consider both direct (once through) disposal and reprocessed fuel cycles, outlining costs in energy and radioactivity release of both, and the mixed French experience with reprocessing and breeders. They note that advanced reprocessing has the potential to reduce waste volume and long-term radioactivity, at the expense of doubling release today (p. 198). They advocate research into uranium separation from sea-water, noting that early experiments are very promising that this can meet growing power needs for hundreds of years. Of course, what we really need are about 40 years of growth to bridge the world to a mix of fully sustainable electricity sources and to take up the growing slack from declining oil+natural gas. The authors first consider the bridging contribution of coal, arguing (p. 232) that CO2 sequestration is certainly feasible at the cost of reducing power-plant net energy output by 30-50%. Coupled with oil+gas decline, sequestration would reduce anthropogenic CO2 generation to levels well below the lowest 2100 projection of the IPCC (perhaps explaining the seemingly comatose response of Cheney/Bush to the Kyoto process). They discuss reactor concepts like the inaccurately named "energy amplifier" sub-critical, accelerator assisted thorium concept of Rubbia, but less discussion of nearer term developments such as the pebble bed modular reactors that seemed until 4/02 to be on track in South Africa. Both approaches are said to attain passive safety. If such designs are not debugged urgently, we will have to depend on expanded use of derivatives from technically "ancient" light-water reactors derived from submarine power-plants.

   The authors also discuss opportunities for terrorists to divert enriched fuel from reprocessing and waste disposal, and note how attractive disposal sites will be for future warriors after all but the plutonium has decayed! They do not discuss the vulnerabilities of existing reactors, but do advocate burying the next generation of power-plants. A chapter on safety also advocates distributing potassium iodide tablets to saturate thyroids of those near power-plants undergoing "an incident"; failure to do this in a timely fashion at Chernobyl produced the criminally high incidence of childhood leukemia. (Until rationality overcomes PR, you can buy suitable KI on the Web. A single dose is useless!) They compare nuclear industry hazards to other industries, tabulating (p. 202) that the relative probability of dying from even a Chernobyl accident is minute compared to cardiovascular disease or "medical errors in hospitals". They discuss the effects of radiation at Chernobyl in detail. There are only a few typesetting errors, and a number of not funny cartoons; the illustrations are clear and useful. It is likely that for the next few decades, our choice in the US will be either a nuclear reactor within 50 miles or electricity rationing through extremely high prices. I plan to use this book in my upcoming college-freshman level energy course for non-science majors ..., and recommend it as a solid introduction to a complex but very real conundrum for our technically challenged society.




3. You might think Megawatts and Megatons subtitled "The Future of Nuclear Power and Nuclear Weapons" (paperback) would have different contents than the one subtitled "A Turning Point in the Nuclear Age" (hardback), like I did; however, with the exception of a new couple-page "Note to the Paperback Edition," I saw no differences. I'd suggest not falling for Amazon's Buy Both on these two, because you'll probably be disappointed to find out you got two editions of the same book.



4. This book covers the science, history, current practice and issues of nuclear power and nuclear weaponry. The first several chapters go over the science of nuclear fission and fusion, and the technology used to harness it. This is accompanied by a short history of the development of nuclear weapons and power. The rest of the book then looks at the state of the nuclear industry around the world, both from a commercial, political, and technological standpoint, and how this compares with other energy systems such as the oil industry, coal industry, etc... The book covers the different types of reactors in existence and under design. The authors also give a good history of nuclear accidents, both in the reactors, and accidental release of radioactive waste. The book ends with chapters on how nuclear power has affected international relations, and what options exist in this area for the future. Overall a good book to read; highly informative and comprehensive. One minus that I found is that the authors are found of citing facts and figures and reproducing tables and graphs, without always including the corresponding references in the text. Instead, all the references are listed at the end of the book.

No comments about Physics Beyond the Light Barrier: The Source of Parity Violation, Tachyons, and A Derivation of Standard Model Features.

No comments about Nuclear Imperatives and Public Trust: Dealing with Radioactive Waste (RFF Press).

No comments about Interaction of Photons and Neutrons With Matter: An Introduction(2nd Edition).

5 comments about The Firecracker Boys.

1. The author writes with a 20-20 hindsight that doesn't even begin to try to understand the bomb, the Cold War, or the nature of those times. What point was there in writing an anti-nuclear book about a nuclear detonation that NEVER happened?



2. Behind the blithe title of this book is a serious work. More, it's an important book. Its subject is Project Chariot, a proposed nuclear excavation on Alaska's Bering Strait. Project Plowshare, initiated in the late 50's, was the umbrella effort to put nuclear explosions to work for non-military purposes, and Project Chariot was billed as one of its first trials. The Firecracker Boys is the history of the conception, marketing, and eventual failure by the nuclear establishment in the face of a burgeoning environmental movement.

   But the book is more than a history; it's the story of the the people on both sides of the fight, and of nuclear testing.There are few books which analyze the history of nuclear testing in the United States, and while detailing the story of Project Chariot, Dan O'Neill gives the most comprehensive history I've yet read of nuclear testing in general. This was surprising to me because I have been in search of such a book, and was delighted to discover it behind what would seem to be a narrow slice of the annals of nuclear testing.

   O'Neill shows us the world of the Eskimos who, for centuries or longer, lived not far from the selected site of the harbor which was to be blasted from the Bering shore. We also get a view into the life and motivations of Edward Teller, the vociferous proponent of Plowshare's geographical engineering, and other nuclear scientists and officials: "If your mountain isn't in the right place, drop us a card". In addition, the Atomic Energy Commission, in an effort to appear interested in the safety of such a detonation, instituted a program of scientific studies of the site and of the Eskimos nearby. When the biologists, geologist and sociologists refused to be cowed and censored by the AEC, the scientists spoke out at great risk in order to let the truth be known.

   The struggle for the truth, as told by O'Neill, is an important element of the book, and a cautionary tale for today. The U.S. Government, under the auspices of the AEC, misled and deceived the citizens of the U.S. about the safety and necessity of nuclear testing. The author patiently outlines the contrast between recently declassified materials, and what the officials of the AEC were saying to the press, the Eskimos and to the American public about the dangers of fallout from nuclear testing. No doubt, the AEC felt it was justified in such disregard and duplicity in the name of national security and of the progress of science. When agents of the government act in a manner beyond accountability and scrutiny, and with ideological obsessiveness, the result is usually detrimental to the public. In this well written and well researched book, Dan O'Neill tells a mostly forgotten story which every American should know.




3. I cannot help but notcice how the reviewers which seem to have been deeply disgusted by this book prefer to remain anonymous. Even if their opinion is that nuclear testing should continue, it disturbs me that these reviewers were not taken aback by the colossal mountain of half-truths, misrepresentations, and downright lies that the AEC (Atomic Energy Comission) used to lobby this project to Alaskans.

   And remember, these are the same guys who concluded that it would be acceptable to conduct underground nuclear tests near one of the most active fault lines in the world, on Amchitka Island out on the Aleutian chain.

   I can only say that never again will I be able to look at a map of my state without imagining a "polar bear shaped harbor" etched in to the wind battered coast somewhere between Barrow and Kotzebue.




4. About a fascinating chapter in American history, and how the democratic process prevailed--barely--over the certain vested interests in the military-industrial complex. Makes Dwight Eisenhower look like a prophet--and also details some of the career of Edward Tellar, rightly celebrated as the father of the American H-bomb but then subsequently responsible for much bad science, including Ronald Reagan's Star Wars. This book is very well researched and documented. One moral to draw: citizens must be involved with public policy. The former Soviet Union, undertaking a similar project, turned areas of Siberia so radioactive that it will not be safe to dwell there for 10,000 or more years. We almost did the same in Alaska--but thankfully did not. Read this book to (1) understand how this disaster was averted, and what we can do to continue to safeguard our democratic processes; and (2) for great--true--story.



5. With John Bolton as our renegade permanent representative to the UN, working for the US nuclear weapons industry by trying to stop the UN program of nonproliferation, "The Firecracker Boys" so brilliantly described in Dan O'Neill's book continue even today with their diabolical efforts. Not to mention NASA's plan to send nuclear powered rockets into space.

2 comments about Chernobyl Record: The Definitive History of the Chernobyl Catastrophe.

1. I approached Dr. Mould's book "Chernobyl Record" with some trepidation, as I read some reviews that characterized it as unabashedly pro-nuclear. However, I did not really detect such a bias. Some claim that Mould downplays the effects of radiation, but I don't see how. He uses plenty of data to support his claims, and he hardly glosses over the horrible effects of radiation. But I think I am more apt to believe his claim that Chernobyl was the "greatest psychological disaster in history," in that many of the effects in people outside the exclusion zone and the Kiev area were psychosomatic, tied to their fear of the effects of radiation. I am not trying to downplay Chernobyl's consequences, which are huge, but compared to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, its effects were less in magnitude and scope. However, even if some effects are only psychological, these too are quite sad and often as bad as the physical effects. The accident has led to economic problems in Ukraine, including high unemployment, and the displacement of a large number of people, and these factors all lead to a high rate of depression and alcoholism among many Ukrainians, including the survivors and liquidators.
   
   "Chernobyl Record" provides an excellent inroduction to the Chernobyl accident, explaining all of the necessary terminology on radiation and nuclear reactors. However, it does kind of speed through the accident itself, and for in-depth accounts of the actual accident, one will have to look elsewhere, such as Grigori Medvedev's The Truth About Chernobyl. It is to books such as Medvedev's that one will also have to turn to for a detailed account fo the heroism of many of the firefighters and operators involved in cleaning and containing the accident.
   
   The photos (both in color and black and white) in Mould's book are quite invaluable as well, including many of the interior of the Sarcophagus, the town of Pripyat, and of radiation victims from Chernobyl.
   
   The biggest problem with the book is that Mould concentrates primarily on the aftermath and consequences of the accident. This inforamtion is quite helpful and relatively up-to-date (2000), but some of the data on the effects on wildlife and foodstuffs are less interesting than the human aspects of the story. However, concluding with V. Legasov's "Testament" was an excellent way of bringing the human element back into focus.
   
   Overall, then, this book will prove indispensable for anyone interested in Chernobyl. However, as it was published in 2000, it is already outdated, since the effects of Chernobyl continue to be studied and there are plans to bulid another structure over Unit No. 4 and the Sarcophagus. Chernobyl still awaits its definitive history, but it is sad to think that so many people have forgotten Chernobyl. There are several lessons in nuclear safety to be learnt from the accident that can be extracted from this excellent book. Nuclear power is not something to be taken lightly, and this book is a sobering reminder of that fact.



2. A very informative book, well written.
   Amazon delivered it 10 days earlier than promised. Well done!

1 comments about Probabilistic Safety Assessment in the Chemical and Nuclear Industries.

1. This book is an excellent overview about Probabilistic Safety Assessment. In this case applied in Chemical and Nuclear Industries. The references are complete, but in some cases are not updated. A very well overview about data, methods and software used in this analysis is done. The relevant incidents in both industries are explain in special chapters.

   Finally, this book is a powerful source of information with a lots of links to useful and more specific information. A complete startpoint in Probabilistic Safety Assessment.