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Plutonium: A History of the World's Most Dangerous Element

Plutonium: A History of the World's Most Dangerous Element Paperback - 2009

by Bernstein, Jeremy

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  • Paperback

In his new history of this complex and dangerous element, noted physicist Bernstein describes the steps that were taken to transform plutonium from a laboratory novelty into the nuclear weapon that destroyed Nagasaki.

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Details

  • Title Plutonium: A History of the World's Most Dangerous Element
  • Author Bernstein, Jeremy
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition First Edition
  • Condition New
  • Pages 216
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Cornell University Press, Ithaca
  • Date 2009-05-15
  • Features Bibliography, Index, Maps, Table of Contents
  • Bookseller's Inventory # GOR013666117
  • ISBN 9780801475177 / 0801475171
  • Weight 1 lbs (0.45 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.5 x 5.12 x 0.5 in (21.59 x 13.00 x 1.27 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 20th Century
  • Library of Congress subjects Plutonium - History
  • Dewey Decimal Code 546.434

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From the publisher

When plutonium was first manufactured at Berkeley in the spring of 1941, there was so little of it that it was not visible to the naked eye. It took a year to accumulate enough so that one could actually see it. Now so much has been produced that we don't know what to do to get rid of it. We have created a monster.The history of plutonium is as strange as the element itself. When scientists began looking for it, they did so simply in the spirit of inquiry, not certain whether there were still spots to fill on the periodic table. But the discovery of fission made it clear that this still-hypothetical element would be more than just a scientific curiosity--it could be the main ingredient of a powerful nuclear weapon. As it turned out, it is good for almost nothing else. Plutonium's nuclear potential put it at the heart of the World War II arms race--the Russians found out about it through espionage, the Germans through independent research, and everybody wanted some. Now it is warehoused around the world--the United States alone possesses about forty-seven metric tons--but it has almost no practical use outside its role in nuclear weaponry. How did the product of scientific curiosity become such a dangerous burden?In his history of this complex and dangerous element, noted physicist Jeremy Bernstein describes the steps that were taken to transform plutonium from a laboratory novelty into the nuclear weapon that destroyed Nagasaki. This is the first book to weave together the many strands of plutonium's story, explaining not only the science but also the people involved.

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About the author

Jeremy Bernstein was a staff writer at the New Yorker for thirty-five years and is Professor Emeritus of Physics at the Stevens Institute of Technology. His books include Oppenheimer: Portrait of an Enigma.

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