Cavendish Press: Ann Arbor, MI, 2001. 282 pp. 45 illustrations.
Paperback: ISBN 0-9676944-2-6. $14.95.
Hardback: ISBN 0-9676944-3-4. $22.95.

This is a timely book, considering the renewed interest in nuclear power promoted by the Bush administration's energy policy. It provides scientific information about nuclear energy with the intent of educating nonexperts to become informed participants in debates about the possibility of new nuclear power plants and concerns about continuing to run aging nuclear plants.

The book is based on material developed by the author for an introductory special topics physics course. It presents the basic science of nuclear energy using elementary algebra and the force, work, energy model of physical interactions (no quantum mechanics!). Examples of problems are worked out and additional problems are given at the end of the mathematical chapters. A less mathematical, more narrative approach describes the technology of nuclear bombs and reactors.

The book is divided into six parts (19 chapters total), with an appendix containing a narrative about the Three Mile Island nuclear plant accident.

The author introduces the book by challenging a major misconception about nuclear energy, that matter is converted into energy. He states that this misconception is why people are confused about nuclear energy and content to leave discussions about it to the experts. The first part of the book sets out to debunk this myth and correctly explain the source of nuclear energy. The author offers the reader the option of skipping this section.

Chapter 1 explores Einstein's equation, E = mc². The author presents a compelling argument that both chemical and nuclear reactions involve formation and breaking of bonds with energy and mass changes, but the difference is the greater magnitude of energy and mass changes associated with nuclear reactions. Chapter 2 seeks to answer the question, "Where do they shave off the little bits of matter?" It looks at the equivalence of mass and energy using examples of electric force bond energy, then explains that the most convenient way to measure the potential energy of nuclear reactions is by measuring the mass defect.

Chapter 3 is about the amount of energy associated with nuclear bonds, expressed as binding energy and binding energy remaining per nucleon. It applies the graph of binding energy per nucleon versus atomic mass number to the question of how to get energy out of nuclear reactions. Chapter 4 extends the use of binding energy remaining to calculate the energy yield of nuclear rearrangement reactions.

Part II describes the technology of nuclear energy. A brief summary of part I is provided, presumably for those who skipped the initial chapters. Chapter 5 introduces the concept of activation, leading into a discussion of uranium fission. It includes a brief history of the discovery of fission. The chapter compares the energy yields of gasoline and uranium in terms of days of home energy demand supplied, demonstrating why uranium fission is an attractive power source. Chapter 6 addresses critical mass in terms of sustaining and controlling the chain reaction of uranium fission. Chapter 7 outlines the design of a nuclear bomb (with insufficient detail to provide a recipe for terrorists or disgruntled students), focusing on uranium enrichment and the necessity of rapidly joining two pieces of uranium to achieve an explosion.

Chapters 8 through 10 provide the background for understanding the operation of a nuclear reactor. After defining generation time and generation ratio, the book explores the apparent difficulty of achieving a sustained chain reaction without obtaining a bomb. Chapter 10 resolves this dilemma by introducing the feedback mechanism provided by controlling the speed of the activating neutrons and the role of the moderator in regulating the operating temperature and generation ratio in a nuclear reactor.

Chapter 11 describes the architecture of a nuclear reactor core, emphasizing the control rods and how they are used to control the reaction. Chapter 12 discusses the generation of electric power with nuclear heat, pointing out that "minor components" played a key role in the Three Mile Island accident.

Part III focuses on other reactor technologies. It provides a brief discussion of alternate technologies currently in use, including heavy water and graphite as moderators and plutonium as fuel for nuclear reactors. Attempts to develop nuclear fusion as an energy source are also described.

Part IV is an especially readable and informative treatment of radioactivity. Chapter 16 defines radioactivity, describing the principal radioactive particles and introducing half-life. Chapter 17 uses a more mathematical approach to answer the question, "How radioactive?" After the equation calculating the radioactivity of a sample is derived, its implications are examined both quantitatively and qualitatively. This chapter gives an example of carbon-14 dating and presents the uranium decay sequence. Chapter 18 considers radioactivity and exposure. After introducing the measurement of rate of exposure, it describes the effects of exposure and the use of statistics in evaluating delayed effects.

The last part is distressingly brief (one chapter), providing only a bare bones introduction to risk assessment and the use of statistics. The author restates his purpose of providing sufficient information for readers to evaluate the facts surrounding nuclear energy and make informed judgements and his intention of not evaluating the often-biased publicly available information about nuclear energy.

The last chapter leads into the appendix, an account of the Three Mile Island accident, originally published as an attachment to the official report of the incident. The author uses this account as a case study for his course. The easily readable narrative highlights the technical issues as well as the social impact of miscommunication among government, industry, and media representatives.

The author fulfills his basic intent of dispelling the mystery and confusion surrounding nuclear energy. The book avoids political issues and focuses on facts. I enjoyed reading it. Anecdotes such as those about radon levels in home basements and the effect of fallout from Chernobyl on the Lapland reindeer herd helped make the book relatable to experience. The mathematical sections required more concentration than just casual reading, but were often introduced with analogies and followed by clear explanations of the equations.

The book is a good resource for high school or college science teachers who want to include a section on nuclear energy in introductory courses. I highly recommend the section on radioactivity to nonexperts who are concerned about radiation exposure. Nonexperts or math-adverse students might have difficulty with the algebra, but could gain some understanding of nuclear energy by reading the book even without following the math.

I understand and accept the author's goal of providing a brief, basic development of nuclear energy to educate nonscientists, yet I would have liked discussion of other issues besides nuclear reactor safety. To some extent, this objection is overcome by the bibliography provided for further reading. There were a few teasing tidbits that I would have preferred to be either omitted or explored further. Some examples are the possibility that German scientists during World War II deliberately overestimated the amount of uranium required for critical mass and a too brief discussion about the heat that would be generated by unlimited energy from nuclear fusion. Although the illustrations were helpful, more of them would increase the appeal of the book for those who have difficulty learning by reading text. I did not read with an eye for errors in the text.