Meltdown

Meltdown investigates and recreates the dramatic events behind the most notorious nuclear accidents in history, as well as those shrouded in secrecy. Combining human tragedy with intriguing science, each account reveals new aspects of humanity's complex relationship with nuclear power and the ongoing struggle to harness and control it.

From the pioneers of Los Alamos who got up close and personal with the cores of atomic bombs, to the hapless engineers in Soviet fuel-processing plants who unwittingly mixed up a disaster in a bucket, and from the terrifying impact of a tsunami at Fukushima to the mystery of the recent Russian incident, Meltdown explores the past and future of this extraordinary and potentially lethal source of infinite power.

Joel Levy is a writer and journalist specialising in science, nature and technology for younger audiences. His writing explores both mainstream science and weird technology, from chemistry and physics to death-rays and biomimetic robots. After taking degrees in molecular biology and psychology at Warwick and Edinburgh, he has gone on to write books including Really Useful, the science and history of everyday technology; Poison: A Social History, on the science and lore of poisons; Newton's Notebooks, on the life and discoveries of Isaac Newton; Phobiapedia, an encyclopaedia of the things that scare us most; and A Bee in a Cathedral, exploring analogies and thought experiments in science, nature and technology.

Case studies of 14 major incidents unravel the science, politics and cultural significance of nuclear power. Meltdown investigates and recreates the dramatic events behind the most notorious nuclear accidents in history, as well as those shrouded in secrecy. Combining human tragedy with intriguing science, each account reveals new aspects of humanity's complex relationship with nuclear power and the ongoing struggle to harness and control it. From the pioneers of Los Alamos who got up close and personal with the cores of atomic bombs, to the hapless engineers in Soviet fuel-processing plants who unwittingly mixed up a disaster in a bucket, and from the terrifying impact of a tsunami at Fukushima to the mystery of the recent Russian incident, Meltdown explores the past and future of this extraordinary and potentially lethal source of infinite power.

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