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Nuclear weapons and nuclear energy

Ian Bellany

in Curbing the Spread of Nuclear Weapons

Nuclear energy has peaceful applications and non-peaceful applications. The centrepiece of all political efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons lies in attempting to harmonise the ... More

Nuclear energy has peaceful applications and non-peaceful applications. The centrepiece of all political efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons lies in attempting to harmonise the proliferation of nuclear reactors with the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. What all nuclear reactors have in common is nuclear fuel, which must contain at least some uranium in the form of the isotope uranium-235 (or very much more rarely 233), or plutonium, or both. This is usually described as ‘fissile material’. This chapter is about nuclear technology and the technical interconnections between commercial and military nuclear programmes. It also discusses the spread of nuclear technology and the use to which it has been put by a number of states, both inside and outside the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, to bring them close to or even take them over the nuclear weapons threshold. Moreover, the chapter provides an overview on critical mass and nuclear bombs, the differences between the United States and its natural allies over nuclear proliferation, radioactive waste and nuclear accidents and uranium enrichment.Less

Nuclear specialists at work

Sean F. Johnston

in The Neutron's Children: Nuclear Engineers and the Shaping of Identity

For practising engineers, the most pragmatic expression of technical identity was defined in the workplace. This chapter focuses on nuclear specialists via their jobs. During the 1950s, workers from ... More

For practising engineers, the most pragmatic expression of technical identity was defined in the workplace. This chapter focuses on nuclear specialists via their jobs. During the 1950s, workers from a spectrum of disciplines expanded at sites specializing in reactor development, plutonium production, and power generation. By the early 1960s these specialists were emerging as a recognized occupational speciality in the USA, but not in Britain. For early nuclear workers, representation by American labour unions was a problem for security reasons, and existing British unions aligned with chemical industry traditions, but new occupational labels were supported in Canada. The characteristics that defined the work of the specialists were disputed, although the risks of radioactivity shaped working identities in each country.Less

Defining (Scientific) Direction:: Soviet Nuclear Physics and Reactor Engineering during the Cold War

Sonja D. Schmid

in Science and Technology in the Global Cold War

This chapter uses nuclear physics and reactor engineering as an example to illustrate uniquely Soviet discussion over “fundamental” and “applied” research during the Cold War. Post-Stalinist ... More

This chapter uses nuclear physics and reactor engineering as an example to illustrate uniquely Soviet discussion over “fundamental” and “applied” research during the Cold War. Post-Stalinist scientists found creative strategies around Party control that involved “boundary work” emphasizing scientific universalism. These strategies involved both a public image campaign for peaceful uses of nuclear energy (which linked abstract research agendas to concrete applications and the public good), and also the creation of organizational structures that would firmly anchor fundamental science in the country’s institutional landscape. The success of these strategies ironically reinforced a symbiotic relationship between science and the state by buttressing the rhetoric of “scientific neutrality” versus state ideology. While deeply contradictory, the rhetorical demarcation between “fundamental” and “applied” science served to materialize specific organizational arrangements, which in turn shaped the kind of research deemed appropriate, and the kinds of applications regarded desirable. This rhetorical move made it possible that both an “international” design and a uniquely “Soviet” model of nuclear power reactors found resonance among Soviet decision makers.Less

Iraq

Gawdat Bahgat

in Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in the Middle East

This chapter examines the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq. It discusses Iraq's WMD capabilities, the preemptive strikes on its nuclear reactors and the strict United ... More

This chapter examines the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq. It discusses Iraq's WMD capabilities, the preemptive strikes on its nuclear reactors and the strict United Nations scrutiny of the Iraqi program to acquire and develop nonconventional capabilities for most of the 1990s and early 2000s. It argues that Saddam Hussein's aggressive foreign policy cannot be understood without fully appreciating the domestic power structure and the challenges his regime confronted within Iraq and that his removal is no guarantee that the question of Iraq's WMD has been resolved.Less

Nuclear Power Generation

Peter Rez

in The Simple Physics of Energy Use

The primary advantage of nuclear power is that a lot of energy can be generated from very little material—that too with no ongoing CO2 production. The disadvantage is the problem of dealing with ... More

The primary advantage of nuclear power is that a lot of energy can be generated from very little material—that too with no ongoing CO2 production. The disadvantage is the problem of dealing with radioactive waste—in particular,137Cs. Although somewhat challenging, it still appears to be manageable. Progress in nuclear fusion research has been slow, but the ultimate reward of almost unlimited energy would make it worthwhile to keep going.Less

The Begin Doctrine

Avi Shilon

in Menachem Begin

Before his designated successor as prime minister of Israel could be known, Menachem Begin appointed his third finance minister, Yoram Aridor, on January 21, 1981. Aridor's appointment was a turning ... More

Before his designated successor as prime minister of Israel could be known, Menachem Begin appointed his third finance minister, Yoram Aridor, on January 21, 1981. Aridor's appointment was a turning point for the economy. As part of his economic policy, Aridor increased the range of services offered to the public, lowered taxes and prices, and increased the subsidies on basic products. As a result, the public's purchases increased, along with the state's revenues, although inflation rose and the value of the Israeli currency fell. Meanwhile, Begin declared during a gathering in Kiryat Malachi that Israel will strike the terrorists in their bases and denounced German chancellor Helmut Schmidt for his statement that Germany had a moral obligation toward the Palestinians because of the injustice they had suffered upon the establishment of the state of Israel. In October 1979, Begin instructed Chief of Staff Rafael Eitan to prepare an operation to attack the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq, ignoring the psychological impact such an offensive would have upon the Arab world.Less

Missing the Boat 1945–1964

Robert McCaughey

in A Lever Long Enough: A History of Columbia's School of Engineering and Applied Science Since 1864

This chapter reviews developments at Columbia University's School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) during the years 1945–1964. It first considers the leadership vacuum at SEAS in the ... More

This chapter reviews developments at Columbia University's School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) during the years 1945–1964. It first considers the leadership vacuum at SEAS in the immediate postwar era as well as its problem with space constraints before turning to the appointment of John R. Dunning as the school's eighth dean. It then examines the controversy surrounding the TRIGA Mark II nuclear reactor installed at SEAS, along with Henry Krumb's $16 million donation to the school. It also discusses the reconstitution of the SEAS faculty; the issue over departmental rankings and the institutional rankings derived from them; and how Columbia forfeited its early prominence in the field of computers and computer science to more nimble competitors such as MIT, Stanford, and Carnegie Mellon. Finally, it looks at SEAS's postwar students.Less

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Jean-Luc Nancy

in After Fukushima: The Equivalence of Catastrophes

This chapter discusses equivalence. The equivalence of the disaster of Fukushima and other catastrophes goes beyond the military and general use of nuclear power, but to the powers humanity has ... More

This chapter discusses equivalence. The equivalence of the disaster of Fukushima and other catastrophes goes beyond the military and general use of nuclear power, but to the powers humanity has endowed itself with. Equivalence is governing oneself with forces that dictate. Hence, a broken nuclear reactor is no less equal than the excess used to control and manipulate it. For example, coal and oil have brought problems that have exceeded the political and technological capabilities of those who are controlling them. What is inevitable to follow is an ever increasing form of interdependence, becoming more complex, so that there is no end to manipulation and techniques. These are also obviously intertwined. In this complicated state of things, equivalence exists. Relations no longer count; if there is any, it is termed incommensurable.Less

The Iranian Forces’ Counterattacks: First Steps (January–July 1981)

Pesach Malovany IDF (Ret.), Amatzia Baram, Kevin M. Woods, and Ronna Englesberg

in Wars of Modern Babylon: A History of the Iraqi Army from 1921 to 2003

This chapter deals with the second phase of the war between Iraq and Iran—the first Iranian counter attacks to drive the Iraqi forces from their territory, and the opening of the “war of attrition”. ... More

This chapter deals with the second phase of the war between Iraq and Iran—the first Iranian counter attacks to drive the Iraqi forces from their territory, and the opening of the “war of attrition”. These included two Iranian initiatives in the Khafajiya sector in central Khuzestan (January and July 1981), an initiative in the Serbil Zehab and Kolina area in the central sector of the front, and the fighting in the northern sector of the front. It deals also with the failures of the Iraqi air force to prevent the Iranian air attack on the Iraqi air base in H-3, in west Iraq, and the Israeli air attack on the Iraqi nuclear reactor south of Baghdad (April-June 1981)..Less

Catching a Lift 1976–1980

Robert McCaughey

in A Lever Long Enough: A History of Columbia's School of Engineering and Applied Science Since 1864

This chapter examines changes at Columbia University's School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) during the years 1976–1980 under the deanship of Peter Likins. A professor of civil engineering ... More

This chapter examines changes at Columbia University's School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) during the years 1976–1980 under the deanship of Peter Likins. A professor of civil engineering and associate dean of the School of Engineering at UCLA, Likins was installed in 1976 as the tenth dean of SEAS. Although his was to be the second shortest deanship up to that time, just four years, it was also the most transformational. Likins immediately overhauled SEAS's fundraising operation, successfully raising more money than his predecessor with less going to cover costs. By the end of the decade the school had struck up relationships throughout American industry that significantly increased the number of gifts, with many of these corporate-school relationships developed through a group Likins called Columbia Engineering Affiliates that still exists today. This chapter also considers Likins's initiatives with regards to the engineering and computer science faculties before concluding with an assessment of the controversy surrounding the TRIGA Mark II nuclear reactor at Columbia.Less

King of Israel

Avi Shilon

in Menachem Begin

Three months prior to the 1981 elections, public opinion polls showed that Menachem Begin's Likud party would lose to Hamaarach by more than twenty-five percent. Three weeks before, the two parties ... More

Three months prior to the 1981 elections, public opinion polls showed that Menachem Begin's Likud party would lose to Hamaarach by more than twenty-five percent. Three weeks before, the two parties were expected to figure in an extremely tight race. Begin launched a tirade against Hamaarach, the Arabs, and the Gentiles, especially the Germans. A week after Israeli forces bombed the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq, Begin spoke at a meeting in Netanya and was greeted by more than 10,000 enthusiastic fans who chanted “Begin, King of Israel.” He talked about the missiles deployed by Syria in the Lebanese Beqaa Valley and the efforts of American mediator Philip Habib to settle the dispute between Israel and Syria.Less

Epilogue: The mystery of beta decay

Robert T. Hanlon

in Block by Block: The Historical and Theoretical Foundations of Thermodynamics

The mystery of beta decay temporarily challenged the conservation of energy. The discovery of the neutrino solved this mystery and preserved the conservation law.

Innovation as Renovation

Jennifer Robertson

in Robo sapiens japanicus: Robots, Gender, Family, and the Japanese Nation

Innovation 25 was introduced in 2007 as Prime Minister Abe’s visionary and futuristic blueprint for robotizing Japan by 2025. This policy proposal was supported by subsequent administrations and then ... More

Innovation 25 was introduced in 2007 as Prime Minister Abe’s visionary and futuristic blueprint for robotizing Japan by 2025. This policy proposal was supported by subsequent administrations and then revamped following Abe’s reelection in 2012. The conservative sociopolitical aspects of the proposal are elaborated and the use of graphic propaganda to promote Abe’s nationalist policies is reviewed. Members of the Innovation 25 Strategy Council are identified, and opposition to Innovation 25 is summarized. Corporate mismanagement in the aftermath of the trifold disaster of March 11, 2011 (3/11), is critiqued. Contrary to pre-disaster expectations, robots proved incapable of navigating the tsunami-damaged nuclear reactors in Fukushima. The Abe administration’s fostering of “robot dreams” among children and the general public is reviewed and characterized in terms of reactionary postmodernism.Less

Systems, Design, and Production

John H. Lienhard

in The Engines of Our Ingenuity: An Engineer Looks at Technology and Culture

No technology can be reduced to one invention or even to a cluster of inventions. The smallest component of any device, something so small as a screw, represents a ... More

No technology can be reduced to one invention or even to a cluster of inventions. The smallest component of any device, something so small as a screw, represents a long train of invention. Somebody conceived of a lever, someone else thought of a ramp, another person dreamed up a circular staircase. The simple screw thread merges all of those ideas, and it followed all of them. A contrivance made of more than one part is a system woven from those parts. Take a pair of scissors. It consists of just three correlated members—two blades with handles on one end and the bolt that holds them together. Each part represents a skein of invention, and the whole is a device with an efficacy that we would normally not see in the parts alone. System is a word that takes on new overtones in the modern engineering vocabulary. Yet the modern sense of the word is no different from the dictionary definition, “an assemblage with correlated members.” As machines become more complex, however, their systemic characters become increasingly important in the processes of conceiving, designing, and producing them. But the systemic nature of technology does not end with the particular device. Think for a minute about automobiles. An automobile engine is a large, complex system in itself, but it cannot be designed in isolation from the rest of the car. The engine, radiator, transmission, brakes, airconditioning, suspension, and much more all act in concert to get you to work or to play. And the systemic character does not stop there. The automobile interacts with life around it. Questions of service, noise, air pollution, parking, and pedestrian safety all come to rest on the shoulders of automobile makers. That particular assemblage of correlated members reaches even beyond the automobile and its immediate infrastructure. The finished automobile reshapes the society in which it moves. The layout of cities, the design of homes, and even the scaling of the nuclear family have been shaped to this exceedingly complex technology, and that process of change continues still. Less

Nature’s green revolution

David Beerling

in The Emerald Planet: How plants changed Earth's history

The scientific revolution of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, if indeed it can be recognized as such, saw the foundations of modern science established. ... More

The scientific revolution of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, if indeed it can be recognized as such, saw the foundations of modern science established. Developments by iconic figures, notably Francis Bacon (1561–1626), Galilei Galileo (1564–1642), Robert Boyle (1627–91), and Isaac Newton (1642–1727), among others, advanced the study of the natural world by moving it away from mystical concepts and grounding it firmly in the rational. Bacon outraged his intellectual contemporaries with the belief that scientific knowledge should be built on empirical observation and experimentation, and pursuing this theme is alleged to have done for him in the end, at the age of 65. According to Bacon’s former secretary, the legend goes that Bacon was travelling in a coach towards London with one of the King’s physicians on a snowy day in April 1626 when he decided to investigate whether meat could be preserved by ice. Seizing the opportunity for an experiment, Bacon purchased a chicken in Highgate, then a small village outside London, gutted it, and proceeded to stuff the carcass with snow to see if it delayed putrefaction. In his excitement he became oblivious to the cold, caught a chill, and took refuge in the Earl of Arundel’s nearby house in Highgate, the Earl being away serving time in the Tower of London. Bacon died a few days later, probably from pneumonia, after being put up in a guest room with a damp bed disused for over a year, but not before penning a letter to the Earl communicating the success of the experiment. This delightful story of Bacon’s ultimate demise would have been fitting for his contribution to modern science, but is probably apocryphal. Surviving records indicate Bacon was already ill before the end of 1625, and inclined to inhale opiates and the vapours of chemical saltpetre (potassium nitrate) to improve his spirits and strengthen his ageing body. In those days, the saltpetre was impure, a mixture of potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, and other compounds that may have given off toxic vapours. It seems possible, likely even, that Bacon overdosed on his inhalation of remedial substances to compensate for his ill health. Less