Chapter I: Front Matter

OUR NUCLEAR FUTURE ...
_FACTS DANGERS AND OPPORTUNITIES_

BY Edward Teller AND Albert L. Latter

CRITERION BOOKS • NEW YORK

Copyright © 1958, by Criterion Books, Inc.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 58-8783

_Designed by Sidney Feinberg_

MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BY AMERICAN BOOK-STRATFORD PRESS, INC., NEW YORK

Preface

This book has been written for the layman who has no knowledge about atoms, bombs and radioactivity. He knows that the world is made of atoms, that bombs might destroy it and that radioactivity could make it a place much less agreeable to live in.

We should like to give some advice about the use of the book: Each chapter can be read by itself. The chapters need not be taken in the order in which they are printed. To read them all will give a more complete understanding—and if you have time it is best to read them in the order they are arranged. Some of the earlier chapters perhaps overflow with facts. In some later chapters we wish that more facts were available. These latter the reader will probably understand and remember quite easily. He may not agree with all of their contents. On the other hand the more scientific chapters (II to VIII) will not be questioned but may be harder to read and to remember. It will be a help to keep this in mind: No chapter _follows_ from another but most chapters are related and support some other part of the book.

Our knowledge about fallout is increasing rapidly. Some questions which are raised in the book may already have been answered. With this added knowledge we might have been more quantitative in some of our statements. But we believe the main conclusions would not be altered.

This book was completed before the Sputniks. In their present form these have little to do with the subject of nuclear energy. However, to our mind, the urgency has become greater for the non-scientist to understand those parts of science and technology which may affect his safety and well-being, and the safety and well-being of his country. We hope that this book will contribute in some measure to such understanding.

Contents

Preface 5
I. The Need to Know 13
II. Atoms 18
III. Nuclei 26
IV. The Law of Radioactive Decay 37
V. Breakup of the Nucleus 41
VI. Reactions Between Nuclei 49
VII. Fission and the Chain Reaction 58
VIII. Action of Radiation on Matter 68
IX. The Test 80
X. The Radioactive Cloud 87
XI. From the Soil to Man 104
XII. Danger to the Individual 116
XIII. Danger to the Race 127
XIV. The Cobalt Bomb 134
XV. What About Future Tests? 137
XVI. Has Something Happened to the Weather? 146
XVII. Safety of Nuclear Reactors 152
XVIII. By-products of Nuclear Reactors 160
XIX. The Nuclear Age 168
Glossary 175

List of Illustrations

A section of photographs will be found between pages 96 and 97.

1. A shallow underground explosion.
2. An atomic test tower.
3. A tower shot.
4. An air shot.
5. Leg bone of a rabbit after injection of Sr⁸⁹.
6. Leg bone of a woman dead of radium poisoning.
7. Capsules of cobalt⁶⁰.
8. Cobalt irradiation.
9. Smoke-ring cloud from the air-defense atomic weapon.
10. Wilful exposure—an experiment.
11. Condensation trails produced in a Wilson Cloud Chamber.
12. Closely-spaced tracks form a cloud.
13. Cutaway section of a nuclear reactor.

OUR NUCLEAR FUTURE