by Craig Nelson
nuclear weapons and, 278, 279
personality of, 208–09
satellite development and, 281, 284
Soviet Union and, 227, 244, 285
Strategic Air Command and, 279, 287–88
Lenard, Philipp, 67
Lenin, V. I., 193, 314
Lenin Atomic Power Station, Ukraine
location of, 314
tourism to, 325
use of unaffected reactors at, 324
See also Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster, Ukraine
Lewis, Robert, 213
Lilienthal, David, 229, 230, 235–36, 257
Limerick reactor, Pennsylvania, 310–11
Lindbergh, Charles, 116, 145
Lippmann, Walter, 38
Little Boy bomb, 154, 166, 168, 208, 211–12, 230, 371
Litvinenko, Alexander, 54
Livermore Laboratory (later Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), California, 252, 262, 282
Bravo thermonuclear testing by, 273–74
nuclear weapons designed at, 282
power generation through fusion at, 364
Reagan’s visit to, 330
test-ban agreement and, 267
Lochbaum, David A., 348, 353
Loomis, Alfred Lee, 141
Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, 150–53, 282
atomic trigger device designed at, 166
Bohr’s move to, 175–76
Bravo thermonuclear testing by, 273–74
Fermi’s move to, 158–59
move by scientists to, 150–51, 152–53, 165–66
Oak Ridge reactor and, 164
Oppenheimer’s discovery of site for, 144, 150
Oppenheimer’s work at, 151, 153, 164, 261–62
plutonium supply for, 160
quality of life at, 151–52, 153, 155–56, 157, 159–60
refusal by Meitner and Rabi to move to, 152, 153
research at, 159–60
spying at, 239, 240, 242
Teller’s postwar return to, 231, 252
thermonuclear fusion research at, 247–51, 252
uranium production for, 165
Loubet, Émile, 37
Loubet, Marie Louise, 37
Lyman, Edwin, 355
MacArthur, Douglas, 243, 244–45
Maclean, Donald, 172, 238
Madame Curie (Eve Curie), 49
Madrid, Jim, 204–05
Mahaffey, James, 137, 161, 310, 367, 370
Manhattan Project
anti-Russian feelings in, 194
atomic bomb advice to Truman from, 207
concern about German progress by, 184–85
Einstein and, 83, 122
espionage and, 238
funding for, 126
headquarters building of, 149
naming of, 149
staffing of, 147–49
surveillance of, 154–55
uranium source for, 153–54
MANIAC computer, 248
Manin, Louis, 40
Manzotti, Luigi, 33
Mao Zedong, 6, 244, 373
Marshak, Ruth, 153
Marshall, George, 186, 206–07, 221, 222
Marshall, Leona, 164
Marshall Islands, tests on, 250, 251, 252–54, 270, 273–74, 340, 356
Massive Retaliation defense strategy, 283, 288, 372
Mattson, Roger, 308
MAUD Committee, 121, 147, 166
Max Planck Institute, 190
May, Alan Nunn, 172
Mayak Plutonium Facility, Russia, 323
McCarthy, Joseph, 240, 261, 264
McCone, John, 294
McEnaney, Laura, 287
McKellar, Kenneth, 161
McKibben, Joseph, 150, 199, 203
McMillan, Edwin M., 201
McNamara, Robert, 211, 280, 289, 294, 296, 297, 298–99
medicine, 375, 376
isotopes in, 106, 141, 363–64
radiation for diagnostics in, 5, 13, 30, 54, 82, 89, 137, 266, 377
tracers in, 5, 54, 188, 377
Meitner, Auguste, 97
Meitner, Lise, 54, 59, 75, 379
Bohr’s support for, 94–96, 120–21
childhood interest in science of, 84–85
death of, 190
departure from Germany by, 94–96, 97, 189
education of, 85
Einstein on, 75, 89
Eleanor Roosevelt’s interview of, 189
Frisch on, 99, 100
Hahn on, 86, 96, 98
Hahn’s research with, 64, 84, 85–87, 88–90, 98, 99, 100, 102, 103, 121, 189, 190
Hahn’s treatment of, 92, 93, 96–97, 102–03, 189, 190–91
Hitler’s Jewish laws and, 91–92, 93–95
move to Los Alamos rejected by, 152, 153
Nobel Prize and, 189
nuclear fission research of Frisch and, 99–102, 103, 105, 144
Planck’s support for, 87, 88, 92, 94
posthumous recognition of, 191
story about “fleeing Jewess” with atomic secrets about, 189
Szilard and, 79
uranium fission research of, 121, 189
US tour of, 189
meitnerium, 191
Meloney, Marie (Missy), 50
Menand, Louis, 300
Met Lab (Metallurgical Laboratory), University of Chicago, 127–29, 147, 148, 149, 207, 305
Metropolitan Edison Company (Met Ed), 306, 307, 308
Mettler, Fred, 323–24, 367
Mike (thermonuclear device) testing, at Elugelab, 250, 251, 252–54, 372
Minoura, Koji, 342
Minutemen ICBMs, 280–81, 288, 292
Missile Defense Agency (MDA), 333–34
Moffett, Cleveland, 11
Molander, Roger C., 291
Molotov, Vyacheslav, 232
Morrison, Emily, 155
Morrison, Phil, 61, 155, 185, 202
Moulder, John, 366
Mourning Journal (Marie Curie), 41–42, 43
movies, radiation theme in, 274–75, 310–11, 367
Murakami, Haruki, 359
Mussolini, 67, 69, 128, 226
Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) strategy, 189, 289, 290, 331, 332, 372, 376
“My Trial as a War Criminal” (Szilard), 268
Nader, Ralph, 341
Nagasaki, Japan, bombing, 216–19
American reactions to, 116, 221, 278
attitudes toward nuclear weapons after, 6, 167, 187, 190, 208, 230, 336, 364, 367, 369
biological and health effects of, 7, 213–15, 364, 365–66
bombing flight in, 216–18, 221, 371
damage caused by, 210, 211, 213–14, 218–19, 371
effectiveness of bombing of, 222
Japanese reactions to, 219, 222, 350–51, 359
number of deaths from, 366
survivors (hibakusha) of, 7, 213–14, 215, 219, 350–51, 359, 365–66
technology of, 154, 168, 196, 211
US planning for, 237
US support for, 310
Nakagawa, Koichi, 354–55
NASA, 122, 186, 266, 270, 306, 377
National Defense Research Committee (NDRC), 121–22
National Ignition Facility (NIF), 364
NATO, 283, 293, 296, 297, 299, 327, 328
Nature journal, 82, 99, 101, 102, 103, 112
Nautilus submarine, 303–04, 305
Neddermeyer, Seth, 168, 169
Nelson, Steve, 172
Nevada, possible nuclear waste repository in, 374–75
Nevada Test Site (NTS), 254, 270, 271–72, 287, 332, 336, 337, 373, 375
Newton, Isaac, 5, 67, 381
New York Times, 11, 50, 105, 111–12, 121, 204, 217, 221, 241, 266, 369
nickel-63, 377
Nixon, Richard, 327
arms race and, 277
détente policies of, 327
Kennedy’s campaign against, 282, 284–85
nuclear defense strategies of, 289–90
Nobel, Alfred, 215, 376
Nobel Prize laureates, 265
antimissile strategy protest of, 334
in Chemistry, 47–48, 52, 54, 93, 146, 188–89, 190, 191, 372
exile from Germany of, 91
in Physics, 12, 34, 39, 47, 52, 60, 61, 63, 69, 70, 71, 75, 79, 83, 88, 91, 97, 110, 126, 128, 140, 145, 363
for Peace, 7, 376
Nobel Prizes
Curies and, 34, 47–48
Einstein and, 88
Fermi and, 69–70, 71, 83, 97, 110, 128
Haber and, 372–73
Hahn and Meitner and, 188–89, 190, 191
Noda, Yoshihiko, 359
Noddack, Ida, 90
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), 337, 338
NORAD, 330–31
Nordau, Max, 33
North Korea, 6, 243, 244–45, 337, 338, 339, 373
NS Savannah submarine, 305
nuclear accidents
Blayais nuclear power plant, France, 351
China Syndrome concept of, 309–10, 364
Forsmark nuclear power plant, Sweden, 312
general public’s memories of, 367
Mayak Plutonium Facility, Russia, 323
Rocky Flats, Colorado, plant fire, 323
See also Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster, Ukraine; Fukushima Daiichi power plant disaster, Japan
nuclear power
benevolent qualities of, 376–77
myths and popular images of, 274–75, 310–11, 367
problems in public perception of, 369–70, 374–75
nuclear power plants
in Blayais, France, 351
design improvements in, 362–63
first Soviet, Atom Mirny-1 reactor, 313–14
first US, in Colorado, 304
in Forsmark, Sweden, 312
government support for, 361–62
in Minsk, Belarus, 312–13
number of countries using, 360
popular support for, 360–61
problems in public perception of, 370
Rocky Flats, Colorado, 323
storage facilities for waste from, 374–75
See also Fukushima Daiichi power plant disaster, Japan
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), 341
Davis-Besse plant, Michigan, and, 353
Emergency Response Plan and, 363
Fukushima disaster and, 351, 355, 356
private industry’s relationship with, 353
safety procedures and, 309, 363
Three Mile Island reactors and, 307–08, 309, 311
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, 374
Nuclear Utilization Target Selection (NUTS) strategy, 289, 290
nuclear weapons
American attitudes toward, 299–300, 370–72
arsenals left behind after dissolution of USSR, 335, 338–39
Bush’s elimination of, 333
civilian oversight of, 279–80
current US spending on, 334–35
false alarms about, 293
Gorbachev’s proposed nuclear arms reduction treaty and, 332–33
great myth of, 371
Killing a Nation strategy for, 277, 292, 293, 372
Massive Retaliation strategy for, 283, 288, 372
potential terrorist use of, 336
public perception of, 375–76
Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative against, 331–32
secret launch codes for, 280–81
Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP-62) for, 288–89, 292
Sunday Punch strategy for, 279–79, 283, 288, 292, 372
understanding more to fear less about, 378–79
US Triad Doctrine on, 288
Nunn, Sam¸ 335
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, 160, 161–64, 165, 166, 175, 188, 230, 282, 303, 376
Obama, Barack, 334
Office of Civil Defense (OCD), 286
Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD), 122, 252
Ogasawara, Haruko, 213–14
Oliphant, Mark, 121
Onda, Katsunobu, 344
On Thermonuclear War (Kahn), 290–91, 292
Open Skies arms control plan, 284, 287
Oppenheimer, Frank, 141, 142, 144, 149, 196, 203, 257, 261–62
Oppenheimer, J. (Julius) Robert (Oppie), 36
arms race concerns of, 230, 235, 243–44, 278
atomic bomb design and, 168
atomic bomb testing and, 196, 198, 199, 200, 205, 229
atomic bomb recommendations from, 206, 207, 208, 371
Atomic Energy Commission and, 229, 257, 258, 259–61
awards and recognition of, 265
background of, 141, 144
Bohr and, 175, 176, 191–92, 257
Chicago Met Lab work of, as Coordinator of Rapid Rupture, 147, 148, 150
Communist past of, 149
concern about German progress and, 184
death of, 265, 269
eccentricity of, 143
firebombing of Japan and, 210
hearing on security clearance for, 261–65
hydrogen bomb opposition of, 228, 258, 259, 262, 264
influence of, 142
Livermore lab opposition of, 262
Los Alamos research and, 144, 150, 155, 158, 166, 175, 225, 227, 261–62
Manhattan Project and, 147–49, 155, 156, 157, 158, 184, 220
marriage of, 144
nuclear detection system and, 234
nuclear explosives research by, 147, 163
nuclear power plant dangers and, 341
Oak Ridge reactor and, 164
personality of, 141–43, 257–48
research secrecy and, 259
research with Lawrence at Berkeley by, 141–42, 145
Roosevelt’s death and, 194–95
Strauss and, 257–48
suspicions about and surveillance of, 155, 170, 185, 256–57, 258, 259, 260
Teller and, 170, 220, 227, 231, 258, 262–64
thermal diffusion and, 163
thermonuclear fusion research and, 228, 229, 250, 258, 259
Oppenheimer, Kitty, 144, 149, 155, 156, 172, 198
Orear, Jay, 104, 125
Overbeck, Wilcox, 135
Paderewski, Ignaz, 20
Page, Katherine, 143–44
Page, Winthrop, 143–44
Pais, Abraham, 261
Pakistan, 6, 337, 339, 373
Palladino, Eusapia, 32
Panasyuk, I. S., 233
Parsons, Deke, 156, 212
Partial Test Ban Treaty, 299
Pash, Boris, 185, 186
Pasteur, Louis, 29, 33, 141
Pasteur Institute, 43
Pauli, Wolfgang, 58, 83, 94, 95
Pearson, Mike, 376
Pegram, George, 110, 112, 114, 125, 146
Peierls, Gennia, 159, 170
Peierls, Rudolf¸ 120, 121, 152, 159, 169, 170
Perle, Richard, 333
Perrin, Henriette, 34, 44
Perrin, Jean, 9, 34, 41, 44, 46, 47, 49, 52
Perry, William J., 335
Persico, Enrico, 56
Petrzhak, Konstantin, 171
Philby, Kim, 238
Phillips, Melba, 143
Photography magazine, 11–12
Picasso, Pablo, 33–34
Picture Parade (comic book), 375
Pillitteri, Carl, 343, 344
Planck, Erwin, 186
Planck, Max, 46, 59, 74, 75
Einstein’s research and, 87–88
Hitler’s laws against Jews and, 91, 92
Meitner’s support from, 87, 88, 92, 93, 94
wartime bombing of house of, 186
plutonium
Mayak Plutonium Facility, Russia, accident and release of, 323
Rocky Flats, Colorado, plant fire and release of, 323
Poincaré, Henri, 14
polonium, 4, 26, 28, 30, 51, 52, 53, 90, 188, 197, 230, 253
popular culture, radia
tion theme in, 274–75, 310–11, 367
Pousson, Jens, 177
Power, Thomas, 288
pregnancy, effects of radiation on, 215, 271, 308, 324
Preuss, Paul, 4
Pripyat, Ukraine, 314, 316, 319–20, 321, 324, 325
Project Alsos, 185, 186, 187
Public Awareness of Nuclear Science, 369
Pulitzer, Elinor, 155
Putin, Vladimir, 54
Rabi, Isidor Isaac, 102, 156, 188, 331
ballistic missile tracking and, 330
concern about German progress by, 184
Hungarian background of, 77
move to Los Alamos rejected by, 153
Oppenheimer’s support by, 142, 260–61, 262, 264–65
Szilard and, 77, 110, 112
on Teller, 147, 264
thermonuclear weapons development and, 235, 236
uranium fission research of, 110, 112
Racah, Giulio, 69
radiation
cancer from exposure to, 3, 4, 5, 6, 215, 266, 268, 271, 272, 291, 320, 337, 358, 365, 366, 369, 378
effects of, after Chernobyl disaster, 323–24
fear of, 324, 370
medical use of, 5, 13, 30, 54, 82, 89, 137, 266, 377
as popular culture theme, 274–75, 310–11, 367
pregnancy and, 215, 271, 308, 324
research on health effects of, 365–66
Teller’s concepts of effects of, 331
as two-faced miracle, 368, 379
understanding more to fear less about, 378–79
Radiation Effects Research Foundation, 365–66
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, 336
radiation sickness, 5, 215, 320, 354
radioisotopes, 141, 257, 370, 376–77
radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), 306
radiophobia, 324, 370
Radithor (radium water), 36, 38
radium, 3, 26, 27, 28, 29
burns from, 35, 38, 39, 53, 127
Curies’ research on, 30–34, 39, 47, 49, 54, 63
medical use of, 35–36, 43, 54, 82
public enthusiasm for, 34–35, 36–37, 38
Radium Chemical Company, 127
Radium Institute, Paris, 43, 82, 193
radium isotopes, 97, 98
radon, 3, 4, 30, 54, 60, 62, 82, 104, 127, 188, 311, 336
RAND, 281–83, 288, 290, 372
Rasetti, Franco, 56, 57–58, 59, 62, 64
Ray, Maud, 121
Reagan, Ronald, 7, 299, 376
fear of atomic bomb threats by, 327–28, 329
Flexible Response strategy of, 283
problems in defense strategies and, 330–31, 334
proposed nuclear arms reduction treaty and, 329–30, 332–33
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI; Star Wars) and, 5, 330, 331–32, 333, 335, 364
Reese, Willy Peter, 133
Regaud, Claude 43
Reich Research Council, 105, 183
Rhodes, Richard, 237, 316
Richardson, Owen, 120–21
Rickover, Hyman, 288, 303–04
Ridgway, Matthew, 245
Riken Institute, Saitama, Japan, 210