Publisher's Synopsis
From the pilot's seat in the B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, to the hole in the ground in Finland intended for entombing highly radioactive waste, this is the incredible story of nuclear power. Providing a vivid account of the characters and events that have shaped nuclear power and our thinking around it, The Power of Nuclear weaves politics, culture and technology to explore the past and future of nuclear power. Investigating the dawn of the atomic age in the 1940s, it goes on to show how the world came to fear nuclear plants after Chernobyl. In his quest to disentangle myth from facts, Marco Visscher asks: How dangerous is radioactive radiation? What should you do after a nuclear accident? And have nuclear weapons really made the world less safe? Also considering the potential of the atom to provide unlimited clean energy and free countries of their dependence on both fossil fuels and foreign imports, this book demonstrates how nuclear could mitigate climate change and offer energy security. This is an informed look at what we might do with nuclear - and what nuclear is doing to us.
