This fascinating book tells the story of a new era in human history — from the discovery of uranium to the first atomic bomb experiment. When the idea arose that energy could be extracted from the atom's nucleus, no one could have imagined what difficulties the greatest minds of humanity would have to overcome, and what forces of nature would be unleashed from a lump of self-heating material the size of an orange if compressed to critical mass.
Contents:
Chapter 1. Radioactivity
Chapter 2. The Atomic Nucleus
Chapter 3. The Proton
Chapter 4. The Neutron
Chapter 5. Transuranium Elements
Chapter 6. Nuclear Fission
Chapter 7. The Arms Race
Chapter 8. Plutonium
Chapter 9. Chain Reaction
Chapter 10. Fat Man
Chapter 11. Critical Mass
Chapter 12. Trinity
Acknowledgements