Physics for future presidents : the science behind the headlines /
Richard A. Muller.
- 1st ed.
- New York : W.W. Norton & Co., c2008.
- 380 p. : ill., maps ; 25 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 347-359) and index.
Introduction -- Terrorism -- Nine-eleven -- Inspecting passengers -- Taking control -- Flying and navigating the airplane -- Impact -- Terrorist nukes -- Big nukes -- terrorist dirty bomb -- Rogue nukes -- Uranium bombs -- Plutonium bombs -- next terrorist attack -- Future airplane gasoline attacks -- Bombs on airplanes -- Biological terrorism -- anthrax attack -- Terrorism : presidential summary -- Energy -- Key energy surprises -- Why we love oil -- Power -- Energy alternatives -- bottom line : the cost of energy -- Solar power -- anecdote -- Basic facts -- Solar power plants -- Solar airplanes -- end of oil -- Oil from coal : Fischer-Tropsch -- price of oil -- Energy : presidential summary -- [pt]. 1. 1. 2. The 3. The 4. The [pt]. 2. 5. Th e 6. An 7. The The Nukes -- Radioactivity and death -- Radiation and cancer -- linear effect -- Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor disaster -- linear hypothesis -- Radioactive decay -- Dangers of short versus long half-lives -- Environmental radioactivity -- Horrific mutations -- X-rays and microwaves -- Is radioactivity contagious? -- Nuclear weapons -- key to an explosion: the nuclear chain reaction -- World War II and the Manhattan Project -- Critical mass - the first atomic secret -- Hiroshima - the simple bomb design -- hard part - purifying uranium-235 -- Centrifuges -- plutonium bomb - an implosion design -- hydrogen bomb -- Fallout -- Big bombs -- Smaller weapons, more destruction -- Nuclear madness -- neutron bomb and the weapons paradox -- Nuclear proliferation -- How worried should we be? -- Nukular weapons -- Nuclear power -- Can a nuclear reactor explode like an atomic bomb? -- Manufacturing plutonium -- Fast breeder reactors -- China Syndrome -- Three Mile Island - fuel meltdown -- Chernobyl - a runaway chain reaction -- Pebble bed reactors -- Nuclear waste -- My confession -- Plutonium -- Depleted uranium -- Controlled fusion -- Tokamak -- Laser fusion -- Cold fusion -- Nukes : presidential summary -- [pt]. 3. 8. The The The 9. 10. The The The The 11. The 12. The 13. 14. Space -- Space and satellites -- Satellite orbits : LEO, GEO, and MEO -- GPS : a set of medium-Earth-orbit satellites -- Spy satellites -- Rocket science -- Gravity applications -- g's -- Using gravity to search for ice, oil, hidden craters, and secret tunnels -- Space industry : manufacturing in a weightless environment -- Gravity on the Moon and asteroids -- Artificial gravity -- X Prize -- Humans in space -- Spying with invisible light -- Infrared radiation -- Remote sensing of the Earth -- Military special ops -- Stinger missiles -- Radar and stealth -- Radar imaging -- X-ray backscatter -- Space : presidential summary -- Global warming -- brief history of climate -- climate of the past 14,000 years -- greenhouse effect -- Carbon dioxide -- Calculating greenhouse warming -- Another danger : acid oceans -- ozone hole -- very likely cause -- Evidence -- Distortion -- Exaggeration -- Cherry picking -- News bias -- hockey stick -- Carbon dioxide and ancient climate -- Science and propaganda -- Nonsolutions -- Hydrogen hype -- Electric automobiles -- Fusion -- Solar power -- Recycling -- Kyoto -- [pt]. 4. 15. 16. The 17. 18. [pt]. 5. 19. A The 20. The The 21. A Doing something about it : Alaska -- 22. The 23. fruit of the ground -- Comfortable conservation -- Compact fluorescent lights -- Cool colors : when brown paint is white -- Reason for optimism : Rosenfeld's law -- fizzling population bomb -- Automobile efficiency -- New technologies -- Biofuels -- Concentrating solar -- Safe nukes -- Clean coal -- Carbon credits -- Renewable energy -- Global warming : presidential summary - the buck stops here -- Notes -- Index. 24. The The 25.
Learn the science behind the headlines in this work that outlines the tools of terrorists, the dangers of nuclear power, and the reality of global warming.
9780393066272 (hardcover)
2008006075
GBA890699 bnb
014673986 Uk
Physics--Social aspects. Science and state. Science in mass media.