Atomic adventures : secret islands, forgotten N-rays, and isotopic murder--a journey into the wild world of nuclear science by Mahaffey, James A., author instant download

Atomic adventures : secret islands, forgotten N-rays, and isotopic murder--a journey into the wild world of nuclear science by Mahaffey, James A., author instant download

xxxiii, 363 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : 24 cm, With enthusiasm and witty intelligence, Mahaffey unearths lost reactors on far-flung islands and finds trees that were exposed to active fission--which then changed gender or bloomed in the dead of winter. He explains why we have nuclear submarines but not nuclear aircraft and why cold fusion does not--and cannot--exist. And who knew that radiation-counting was once a fashionable trend? Though parts of our nuclear history might seem like fiction--such as when cowboys got their hands on a reactor--Mahaffey's vivid prose holds the reader in thrall of the infectious energy of scientific curiosity and ingenuity that may hold the key to solving our energy crisis--or even send us to Mars. --, Includes bibliographical references (pages 335-345) and an index, Author's note: stories told at night around the glow of the reactor -- Introduction: The curious case of the n-rays, a dead end for all times -- Cry for me, Argentina -- AFP-67 in the Dawson Forest -- Inside cold fusion -- Good news and bad news -- The lost expedition to Mars -- The chic-4 revolution -- Japan's atomic bomb project -- The criminal use of nuclear disintegration -- The threat of the dirty bomb -- A bridge to the stars -- Conclusions