Nuclear Energy (Physical Science Series)

Examines the discovery and creation of nuclear energy, its uses, both beneficial and destructive, and the hazards of radioactive waste. Includes related activities.

Nuclear energy is powerful and dangerous. Nuclear energy can be terribly destructive, but we have developed ways to harness its technology for other purposes, such as providing a power source and a way to diagnose and battle disease. In Nuclear Energy, Discovery Channel takes a close look at the origins and implications of nuclear energy.

Michael Chabin - Children's Literature

Nuclear energy is a formidable topic to cover in 32 pages. It touches on one of the most profound results in physics: that matter and energy are different forms of the same thing. It touches on two of the most horrific events in modern history: the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It touches on government energy policy, personal safety, economics, engineering, and geopolitics. Difficult and often contentious issues arise almost everywhere nuclear energy is discussed. Still, this book manages an accurate, engaging, and unbiased treatment of the topic. It does all this in fourteen independent two-page essays on topics like nuclear medicine, the physics of nuclear power from Einstein on, and how nuclear power plants work. The only problem is that any of these topics could be expanded into a book of its own, one which would be of enormous value in a middle-school science classroom. That, of course, would undermine the purpose of the book: to give a broad introduction to nuclear science and the issues surrounding it. This book does a superb job of that. It is accurate, well written, very nicely illustrated, and an interesting read for anyone. Most adults would learn a lot from it. Part of the "Discovery Channel Physical Science" series. 2003, Gareth Stevens Publishing,