In this book, you'll examine nuclear energy, weigh its benefits and risk, and look at how we are using nuclear powers now and how nuclear energy might fit into our energy future.

With enthusiasm and witty intelligence, Mahaffey unearths lost reactors on far-flung islands and finds trees that were exposed to active fission--which then changed gender or bloomed in the dead of winter. He explains why we have nuclear submarines but not nuclear aircraft and why cold fusion does not--and cannot--exist. And who knew that radiation-counting was once a fashionable trend? Though parts of our nuclear history might seem like fiction--such...

This fact-packed book offers a simple, age-appropriate explanation of nuclear energy, discusses fission and fusion, and explores the pros and cons of this important energy source. A timeline is included to provide a full historical view of our challenges and advances in nuclear power.