The Atomic Bomb

This book from the SISCON series tells the story of the atomic bomb: from early discoveries in nuclear physics; development of the first bombs and their use in Hiroshima and Nagasaki; to fears in about nuclear warfare.

The chapters in this booklet are:

*Science on the payroll - Who provides the money?, Where the funds go, Scientists who work for war

*Discovering atomic energy - The theory about mass and energy, Inside the atoms, Splitting the atom, Newspaper headlines, Finding the neutron, Fission and the chain reaction

*The start of war - Science goes secret, Britain starts planning, America starts planning

*Building the bombs - The secret college at Los Alamos, The uranium bomb - Little Boy, The pluotnium bomb - Fat Boy, Test explosion, How should our bomb be used?, The decision is made

*Responsibility and treachery - The effect on working scientists, The Official Secrets Act, Atomic spies, World peace or world destruction

*The threat of nuclear war - Atmospheric tests and nuclear pollution, Public protest and the Test Ban Treaty, Strategic arms, Tactical nuclear weapons, Proliferation

*Suggested reading

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• URL: http://stem.org.uk/rxw8