Summary of Serhii Plokhy's Atoms and Ashes

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 Ionizing radiation, the emission or transmission of energy, comes in a variety of forms. The radiation produced by nuclear explosions and accidents carries enough energy to detach electrons from atoms and molecules.

#2 The statue of Prometheus, a Greek Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humankind, was erected in the city of Prypiat a few years before the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. It now stands before the entrance to the office of the Chernobyl nuclear power station.

#3 The main economic argument against nuclear energy is the cost of building a nuclear power plant. It now costs at least $112 per megawatt to build a nuclear plant, compared to $46 per megawatt for solar, $42 per megawatt for gas, and $30 per megawatt for wind.

#4 The history of the nuclear industry is full of accidents that have caused public concern about the safety of nuclear reactors. The three major accidents that have rocked the civil nuclear sector are the Three Mile Island accident of 1979, the Chernobyl disaster of 1986, and the Fukushima multiple reactor meltdown of 2011.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822542914

IRB Media

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Insights on Serhii Plokhy's Atoms and Ashes

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

Ionizing radiation, the emission or transmission of energy, comes in a variety of forms. The radiation produced by nuclear explosions and accidents carries enough energy to detach electrons from atoms and molecules.

#2

The statue of Prometheus, a Greek Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humankind, was erected in the city of Prypiat a few years before the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. It now stands before the entrance to the office of the Chernobyl nuclear power station.

#3

The main economic argument against nuclear energy is the cost of building a nuclear power plant. It now costs at least $112 per megawatt to build a nuclear plant, compared to $46 per megawatt for solar, $42 per megawatt for gas, and $30 per megawatt for wind.

#4

The history of the nuclear industry is full of accidents that have caused public concern about the safety of nuclear reactors. The three major accidents that have rocked the civil nuclear sector are the Three Mile Island accident of 1979, the Chernobyl disaster of 1986, and the Fukushima multiple reactor meltdown of 2011.

#5

The debate on the safety of nuclear energy can be advanced by taking a fresh look at the history of nuclear accidents and trying to understand why they happened, how bad they were, and what we can learn from them.

#6

The story of the nuclear industry is a global one. While national governments did their best to protect their nuclear secrets, the nuclear industry evolved from the very beginning as an international project. Scientists and practitioners of the industry knew that they were part of an international effort, and they shared common beginnings, misperceptions, and mistakes.

#7

The US Atomic Energy Commission’s triggerman, Dr. John C. Clark, was in charge of the test on March 1, 1954. He knew that he had to be especially careful. The test was being run to find out how powerful the hydrogen bomb really was.

#8

The test went off without a hitch, and the men in the control room were able to appreciate how well it had gone when they emerged 15 minutes later and saw nothing wrong outside. But when Clark looked at his Geiger counter, he noticed a sudden increase in radiation.

#9

The Castle Bravo test was a complete disaster, and the fallout from it reached the US control ship USS Estes. The crew was forced to turn off the air conditioning in their