Plutonium – A history of the worlds most dangerous element (book review)

Title : Plutonium – A history of the worlds most dangerous element.
Author ; Jeremy Bernstein
Published ; University of New South Wales, 2007
Size; Paperback. 171 + pages

Comment.
Follows the history of discovery of the elements, then radioactivity and then focuses on Plutonium’s discovery and its unique properties. The book avoids the math’s & physics, but provides adequate scientific material and examples to be of interest to the young scientist. In the last few chapters it covers the first Plutonium bomb (Hiroshima) and other test bombs, along with the difficulty of making such bombs detonate. Lastly it looks at the difficulty of keeping track of such radioactive material, waste disposal etc.
The book is straight forward reading that follows a path from start to finish, and the author has interviewed a number of the more recent scientists for articles and such. One interesting quote is “ I am an amateur, and like many armatures there is the temptation to speak more clearly than I think”, which I feel applies to all of us who hold opinions about nuclear power and such !