Plutonium: A History of the World's Most Dangerous Element [Hardcover]

Jeremy Bernstein (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0309102960 | ISBN-13: 978-0309102964 | Publication Date: March 30, 2007

When plutonium was first manufactured at Berkeley in the spring of 1941, there was so little of it that it was not visible to the naked eye. It took a year to accumulate enough so that one could actually see it. Now there is so much that we don't know what to do to get rid of it. We have created a monster. The history of plutonium is as strange as the element itself. When scientists began looking for it, they did so simply in the spirit of inquiry, not certain whether there were still spots to fill on the periodic table. But the discovery of fission made it clear that this still-hypothetical element would be more than just a scientific curiosity - it could be a powerful nuclear weapon. As it turned out, it is good for almost nothing else. Plutonium's nuclear potential put it at the heart of the World War II arms race - the Russians found out about it through espionage, the Germans through independent research, and everybody wanted some. Now, nearly everyone has some - the United States alone has about 47 metric tons - but it has almost no uses besides warmongering. How did the product of scientific curiosity become such a dangerous burden? In his new history of this complex and dangerous element, noted physicist Jeremy Bernstein describes the steps that were taken to transform plutonium from a laboratory novelty into the nuclear weapon that destroyed Nagasaki. This is the first book to weave together the many strands of plutonium's story, explaining not only the science but the people involved.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Physicist and former New Yorker staff writer Bernstein presents a scientifically rigorous (equations and all) but clearly written explanation of the recondite reasons why plutonium is supremely suited for bomb-making material—and little else. From the discovery of uranium in 1789 to the Manhattan Project, Nazi attempts at a nuclear bomb and the post-WWII efforts of the U.S.S.R. to become a nuclear power, Bernstein reviews the element's storied past. Although the discovery of the atom's structure has been covered before, Bernstein spins an accessible, insightful description of how the great scientists Curie, Bohr, Rutherford and Fermi, among others, deconstructed the atom through a combination of individual brilliance, a spirit of collaboration and serendipity. He also brings his acquaintance with several Los Alamos scientists (he interned at the laboratory in 1957) to the less canonical subject of the scientific and engineering problems inherent to building a working nuclear bomb. Here the search for the elusive element comes to center stage in this challenging but rewarding account (after 2005's Secrets of the Old One: Einstein 1905). (Apr.)
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From Booklist

Physicist Bernstein has written books about Einstein, Oppenheimer, and the German nuclear program. Here he tells the complicated story of plutonium, a chemical that appears in minute amounts in nature but which scientists working feverishly during World War II learned to manufacture in quantity. Plutonium's physics and chemistry are exceptionally complex, inspiring Glenn Seaborg, the nuclear chemist who "finally identified" the elusive element in 1941, to observe, "Plutonium is so unusual as to approach the unbelievable." It is also "fiendishly toxic." Bernstein, an intern at Los Alamos in 1957, analyzes plutonium via a mix of science and biography, the former tough going for nonscientists, the latter, in the form of thumbnail portraits of nuclear scientists from Marie Curie to Enrico Fermi and beyond, vivid and affecting. Irony and drama shape Bernstein's accounts of amazing feats of scientific deduction and world-endangering secrets, which give way to a sobering overview of the environmental damage caused by plutonium-producing reactors and the enormous threats embodied in today's global plutonium inventory. Although convoluted, Bernstein's unique history of the diabolical element is invaluable. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Joseph Henry Press (March 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0309102960
• ISBN-13: 978-0309102964
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,075,312 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Physics, Chemistry and History of Plutonium, July 23, 2007

By 

G. Poirier (Orleans, ON, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Plutonium: A History of the World's Most Dangerous Element (Hardcover)

In this excellent book, the author pulls no punches in describing the science of plutonium. Starting with some relevant history, he zeroes in on this new element: its discovery, its nuclear properties and its unexpected physical and chemical ones. What makes this book particularly fascinating is the fact that the author has personally known many of the scientists involved. Consequently, the reader is treated to an intimate glimpse of what some of these people were like - something that one would be less likely to get in a standard history book. The writing style is friendly, authoritative, engaging and extremely clear - a trademark of this author. Because of the technical nature of much of its content this book would likely be most enjoyed by serious science buffs and those with a technical/scientific background.

35 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ninety-Fourth Element, June 18, 2007

By 

Paul Moskowitz (Yorktown, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Plutonium: A History of the World's Most Dangerous Element (Hardcover)

Jeremy Bernstein is a prolific writer on physics and physicists, and mountaineering. These interests coincide with my own. I like reading his essays and books because he knows how to tell a story. In this work, he covers the history of nuclear physics from the discovery of the periodic table through today. particularly as the events lead to the 94th element, plutonium. He tells the story of the people who developed the theory and practice of nuclear fission eventually resulting in the use of the mass-239 isotope of plutonium in nuclear weapons. If you think that science is without politics, you have to read this history.

I have worked with accelerators and reactors to transform elements from one into another, doing modern-day alchemy. I can give you a recipe for turning lead into gold. However, I never paid particular attention to the process of nuclear fission. Why are the isotopes uranium-235 and plutonium-239 suited for nuclear fission? Now, following Bernstein's explanation, I understand why. Simply, the even numbered isotopes of these elements are more stable. They have a lower energy than the odd isotopes. The addition of a single neutron to the odd-mass isotopes lowers the total energy of the nucleus. The excess energy liberated in the process induces the nucleus to fission. Bernstein explains this in clear language as he does for all of the chemistry, atomic, and nuclear physics in the book.

Others have suggested that the real threat of nuclear proliferation lies in the use of highly-enriched uranium. Uranium bombs may be easier for the amateur to construct than plutonium bombs. Bernstein notes that you can buy a gram of uranium-235 from Oak Ridge for $57. For $2.4 million you could buy enough to make a bomb. Of course, Oak Ridge will not sell you that much. The author is concerned with the world-wide total of about 155 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium. That much plutonium can make a lot of nuclear weapons. There is very little good use that this stockpile can be put to. Some of it may be used to fuel nuclear reactors. However, the chemistry of plutonium is difficult and the economic feasibility of plutonium reactors is not clear. There is a National Academy of Sciences report that you can read on-line: Management and Disposition of Excess Weapons Plutonium: Reactor-Related Options (1995). There is no easy solution to the problem of what do to with all this plutonium.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read, June 16, 2008

By 

J. Kelly (Madison, WI USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Plutonium: A History of the World's Most Dangerous Element (Hardcover)

I am a fan of high end engineering and science topics. Nuclear engineering and achievements are one of those topics I enjoy learning about. The author focuses on the historical discovery, and race to find and learn about Plutonium, and its applications/hazards.

The end of the book has an excellent while brief take on Hanford and Rocky Flats locations and proliferation concerns. A whole nother book about those topics should be done just due to the stockpiles of plutonium around the word, and the impacts it continues to have.

The debunking of "Reactor grade" and "Weapons grade" plutonium in the book is also a excellent item that brings up serious proliferation concerns.