Jagger J. The Nuclear Lion: What Every Citizen Should Know About Nuclear Power and Nuclear War

Springer Science+Business Media, New York, 1991, 402 pages, ISBN: 978-0-306-43771-7This book is about the nucleus of the atom. The very fact that we know the atom has a nucleus, and that we have discovered how the nucleus can break down, either relatively gently as in radioactivity, or with immense power as in nuclear fission, is almost incredible. Modern physics is a beautiful subject, and the insight it has given us into the nature of the universe is a great achievement of the human intellect. Today, when we look back to the Middle Ages, political figures do not stand out as much as philosophers like Roger Bacon and scientists like Copernicus, because of the tremendous impact they had upon the ages that followed-an impact far more lasting and pervasive than that of mere kings and princes. People in the distant future will forget Bush and Gorbachev, but they will remember Einstein. They will most certainly remember when we first released nuclear energy. As members of the human race, we should be proud of our scientific achievements, just as we are proud of the artistic achievements of Shakespeare and Mozart.This book is a plea for nuclear sanity. The release of nuclear energy has presented humankind with a terrible reality, a challenge greater than it has ever had. We can no longer ignore this challenge. We shall not survive unless we develop mature attitudes about nuclear energy. But we must think about both the good and the evil of nuclear power and nuclear weapons and try to arrive at sound political judgments about them. In short, we must educate ourselves about the realities of nuclear energy.This book attempts to explain what the nuclear lion is all about. I shall try to lead you up the stairs, right past the lion, so that you can see him up close. I am not going to tell you that he is not fierce, because he is. But I would remind you of a lady who lived in Africa with a lion called Elsa, of whom she made a dear friend, and of how that understanding of the lion enriched her life and made her see and respect a face of nature that she had not recognized before. Lions can be ferocious and they can kill you, swiftly and terribly. But they generally do this only if you disturb or mistreat them; normally, they would much prefer not to harm humans at all. Those who understand this may
begin to see the beauty and power of the lion, and to realize that perhaps we shall lose something of great value if we kill the lion just because it can be dangerous.Introduction: Chernobyl and HiroshimaAtoms and Life
Atoms: What the Universe Is Made Of
Molecules: How the Atoms Fit Together
Radiation: How the Atoms InteractRadiations and Life
Radiation Biology
Radioisotopes in Medicine and IndustryThe Power
Nuclear Creation
Nuclear Power Reactors
Nuclear Reactor Accidents
Nuclear Waste Disposal
Myth 1: Nuclear Power Is Too Dangerous
The Power ProblemThe Peril
Nuclear Weapons and Arsenals
Nuclear War: I. The Terrible Swift Sword
Nuclear War: II. The Slow Death
Myth II: You Can't Trust the Russians
Nuclear Confrontation
New PerspectivesLiving with Lions
Myth III: War Makes Jobs
Facts and Fallacies
Technology, War, and People
Summary: No Nukes?
Afterword: The Millennium