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At a time when our dependency on foreign
oil makes us vulnerable and when we know our fossil fuel
resources will soon be used up, we need to learn about radiation
more than ever. What is radiation? How does it benefit us
in our daily lives? Just how harmful is it?
As we celebrate the one hundredth anniversary
of Marie Curie's first Nobel Prize, awarded to her and her
husband, Pierre, for their monumental discovery of radioactivity,
it is an ideal time to reflect on the countless ways that
their astounding work has so marvelously enriched our daily
lives. Despite public fears of the potentially harmful effects
of radiation from nuclear waste, we rely on its beneficial
uses every day for preserving fresh food, fighting terrorism,
stopping crime, detecting and treating cancer, developing
an efficient fuel for space travel, and other life-enhancing
applications.
In this delightfully accessible overview
of radiation's many great benefits and as yet untapped potential,
Dr. Alan E. Waltar; past president of the American Nuclear
Society, explains how this important energy source has been
harnessed to serve a plethora of humanitarian functions.
Through the artful use of vivid anecdotes that give vibrancy
to technical explanations, Waltar provides numerous examples
of radiation's many uses in agriculture, medicine, electricity
generation, modern industry, transportation, public safety,
environmental protection, space exploration, and even archeology
and the arts. Estimating the total financial contribution
of all these varied uses, Waltar comes to the startling
revelation that radiation technology now contributes more
than $420 billion to the US economy and provides over 4.4
million jobs. In the future, Dr. Waltar foresees continuous
improvement in many areas of science, industry, and medicine
through tapping the incredible potential of Marie Curie's
initial insights.
With a compelling introduction by Marie
Curie's granddaughter, nuclear physicist Dr. Helene Langevin-Joliot,
who reveals a host of interesting and hitherto unknown stories
about her famous family (winners of five Nobel Prizes),
this unique popular science book exposes many unfounded
fears and provides a wealth of valuable information and
insights.
Alan E. Waltar, Ph.D., is Director of
Nuclear Energy for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
and the author of America the Powerless: Facing Our
Nuclear Dilemma and Fast Breeder Reactors -- coauthored
with Albert B. Reynolds -- in addition to numerous scientific
articles. He was formerly head of the department of nuclear
engineering at Texas A&M University.
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