The international bestseller from the author of Breakfast with Einstein Emmy is no ordinary dog. When adopted from the shelter by physics professor Chad Orzel, she becomes immediately fascinated by his work. Could she use quantum tunnelling to get through the neighbour’s fence? How about diffracting round a tree to chase squirrels? Or using virtual particles to catch bunnies made of cheese? Taking Emmy’s anarchic behaviour as a starting point, Orzel explains the key theories of quantum physics. From quarks and gluons to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, this is a uniquely entertaining way to unlock the secrets of the universe. Read more

'Everything about this story is astounding' Bryan Appleyard, Sunday Times"Trinity" was the codename for the test explosion of the atomic bomb in New Mexico on 16 July 1945. Trinity is now also the extraordinary story of the bomb's metaphorical father, Rudolf Peierls; his intellectual son, the atomic spy, Klaus Fuchs, and the ghosts of the security services in Britain, the USA and USSR.Against the background of pre-war Nazi Germany, the Second World War and the following Cold War, the book traces how Peierls brought Fuchs into his family and his laboratory, only to be betrayed. It describes in unprecedented detail how Fuchs became a spy, his motivations and the information he passed to his Soviet contacts, both in the UK and after he went with Peierls to join the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos in 1944. Frank Close is himself a distinguished nuclear physicist: uniquely, the book explains the science as well as the spying.Fuchs returned to Britain in August 1946 still undetected and became central to the UK's independent effort to develop nuclear weapons. Close describes the febrile atmosphere at Harwell, the nuclear physics laboratory near Oxford, where many of the key players were quartered, and the charged relationships which developed there. He uncovers fresh evidence about the role of the crucial VENONA signals decryptions, and shows how, despite mistakes made by both MI5 and the FBI, the net gradually closed around Fuchs, building an intolerable pressure which finally cracked him.The Soviet Union exploded its first nuclear device in August 1949, far earlier than the US or UK expected. In 1951, the US Congressional Committee on Atomic Espionage concluded, 'Fuchs alone has influenced the safety of more people and accomplished greater damage than any other spy not only in the history of the United States, but in the history of nations'. This book is the most comprehensive account yet published of these events, and of the tragic figure at their centre. Read more

**Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award** The definitive history of nuclear weapons—from the turn-of-the-century discovery of nuclear energy to J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project—this epic work details the science, the people, and the sociopolitical realities that led to the development of the atomic bomb.This sweeping account begins in the 19th century, with the discovery of nuclear fission, and continues to World War Two and the Americans’ race to beat Hitler’s Nazis. That competition launched the Manhattan Project and the nearly overnight construction of a vast military-industrial complex that culminated in the fateful dropping of the first bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.Reading like a character-driven suspense novel, the book introduces the players in this saga of physics, politics, and human psychology—from FDR and Einstein to the visionary scientists who pioneered quantum theory and the application of thermonuclear fission, including Planck, Szilard, Bohr, Oppenheimer, Fermi, Teller, Meitner, von Neumann, and Lawrence. From nuclear power’s earliest foreshadowing in the work of H.G. Wells to the bright glare of Trinity at Alamogordo and the arms race of the Cold War, this dread invention forever changed the course of human history, and The Making of The Atomic Bomb provides a panoramic backdrop for that story. Richard Rhodes’s ability to craft compelling biographical portraits is matched only by his rigorous scholarship. Told in rich human, political, and scientific detail that any reader can follow, The Making of the Atomic Bomb is a thought-provoking and masterful work. Read more

This is a book about the big questions in life: knowledge, consciousness, fate, God, truth, goodness, justice. It is for anyone who believes there are big questions out there, but does not know how to approach them. Think sets out to explain what they are and why they are important.Simon Blackburn begins by putting forward a convincing case for the study of philosophy and goes on to give the reader a sense of how the great historical figures such as Descartes, Hume, Kant, and Wittgenstein have approached its central themes. Each chapter explains a major issue, and gives the reader a self-contained guide through the problems that philosophers have studied. The large scope of topics covered range from scepticism, the self, mond and body, and freedom to ethics and the arguments surrounding the existence of God.Lively and approachable, this book is ideal for all those who want to learn how the basic techniques of thinking shape our existence. Read more

'Terrifying and timely, this is a book everyone should read and heed' - George Monbiot'Urgent, gripping and sobering, Six Minutes to Winter is a hair-raising wake-up call' - David Wallace-Wells'Powerful and insightful. Although many have forgotten about nuclear weapons, we shouldn't'- Charles Oppenheimer The world is currently closer to superpower conflict than at any time since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. World War III is a real possibility, and with 12,000 warheads in the arsenals of more than half a dozen countries, we are standing on a nuclear knife edge.Despite receiving very little attention, nuclear war is a far greater threat to humanity's immediate survival than climate change. While climate heating threatens humanity over many decades, nuclear war could destroy civilisation in just a few hours. A major missile exchange would mean months of near-total darkness, followed by a decade-long global nuclear winter that would destroy most life on Earth. Virtually everyone would starve in the resulting worldwide famine, and there would be no reliable refuge.We are sleepwalking to Armageddon. There are no mass marches, no COPs, no nuclear Greta. But the climate experience teaches us that ignoring a problem is no solution, and that a worldwide mobilisation can work. Six Minutes to Winter presents an unflinching view of the nuclear nightmare, but also describes how weapons can be taken off hair-trigger alert and ultimately abolished altogether. If human civilisation is to survive long term, we have no alternative. Read more

NUCLEAR DISASTER :: CHERNOBYL :: EXPLAINED FACTS :: WITH IMAGES :: UKRAINE :: USSRDo you really know what happened in Chernobyl?The clock read 01:23:40 in Chernobyl. But what really happened at Reactor 4 at that moment?Did the nuclear disaster end in 1986—or did it only just begin?What has humanity learned from the Chernobyl accident?Much has been said about the nuclear disaster that shook the world in 1986, but what you’ll find in this book is even more intriguing."20 Facts You Didn't Know About Chernobyl" goes beyond the versions you learned at school or saw in TV series. The author explores various topics and curiosities about the Chernobyl nuclear accident that still defy logic and science today. From satellites tracking radiation clouds to animals that continue to live in radiation-contaminated zones, this book reveals details about an event that transformed the course of history.You will discover:What really happened to Chernobyl's Reactor 4 and why the truth took so long to emerge.How radiation crossed borders and reached unexpected places.What the mysterious "Elephant's Foot" of Chernobyl is.Who the "liquidators" of Chernobyl were.How Pripyat went from ghost town to tourist attraction.With clear language and an engaging pace, this work is essential reading for both the curious and experts alike."20 Facts You Didn't Know About Chernobyl" is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand what happened after Midnight in Chernobyl.Get ready to discover what even your teachers never told you about Chernobyl.You will explore Chernobyl curiosities that were kept secret for decades. Read more

R. Shankar has introduced major additions and updated key presentations in this second edition of Principles of Quantum Mechanics.New features of this innovative text include an entirely rewritten mathematical introduction, a discussion of Time-reversal invariance, and extensive coverage of a variety of path integrals and their applications. Additional highlights include:- Clear, accessible treatment of underlying mathematics- A review of Newtonian, Lagrangian, and Hamiltonian mechanics- Student understanding of quantum theory is enhanced by separate treatment of mathematical theorems and physical postulates- Unsurpassed coverage of path integrals and their relevance in contemporary physicsThe requisite text for advanced undergraduate- and graduate-level students, Principles of Quantum Mechanics, Second Edition is fully referenced and is supported by many exercises and solutions. The book’s self-contained chapters also make it suitable for independent study as well as for courses in applied disciplines. Read more

'Outstanding' SUNDAY TIMES 'A stunning debut thriller . . . utterly terrifying . . . absolutely riveting' DAILY MAIL 'Fascinating . . . fearsome' FREDERICK FORSYTH'Enthralling' FINANCIAL TIMES'Thrilling . . . compelling' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE1961. Hidden deep within central Soviet Russia is a place that doesn't appear on any map: a city called Arzamas-16. Here dedicated scientists and technicians are building the most powerful nuclear device the world will ever see - three thousand times more powerful than Hiroshima. But days before the bomb is to be tested, a young physicist is found dead. His body contains enough radioactive poison to kill thousands. The authorities believe it is suicide - they want the corpse disposed of, the incident filed and forgotten. But Moscow is alarmed by what's going on in this strange, isolated place. And so KGB major Alexander Vasin is sent to Arzamas to investigate. What he finds there is unlike anything he's experienced before. His wits will be tested against some of the Soviet Union's most brilliant minds - eccentrics, patriots and dissidents who, because their work is considered to be of such vital importance, have been granted the freedom to think and act, live and love as they wish. For in Arzamas, nothing can be allowed to get in the way of the project. Not even murder . . . Intricately researched, cunningly plotted and brilliantly told, Black Sun is a fast-paced and timely thriller set at the height - and in the heart - of Soviet power from the acclaimed author of An Impeccable Spy.What readers are saying: 'Woven around real events, people and places, it's genuinely terrifying stuff' *****'The twists and turns and intrigue kept me on tenterhooks' *****'Brings alive one of the most fascinating periods of Soviet history' ***** Read more

CHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY SUNDAY TIMES AND HISTORY TODAY'Absolutely stunning. . . a formidable achievement. A six-part historical thriller that is essential reading for both our politicians and the ordinary citizen' Kai BirdBest-selling historian Serhii Plokhy returns with an illuminating exploration of the atomic age through the history of six nuclear disasters In 2011, a 43-foot-high tsunami crashed into a nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan. In the following days, explosions would rip buildings apart, three reactors would go into nuclear meltdown, and the surrounding area would be swamped in radioactive water. It is now considered one of the costliest nuclear disasters ever. But Fukushima was not the first, and it was not the worst. . .In Atoms and Ashes, acclaimed historian Serhii Plokhy tells the tale of the six nuclear disasters that shook the world: Bikini Atoll, Kyshtym, Windscale, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima. Based on wide-ranging research and witness testimony, Plokhy traces the arc of each crisis, exploring in depth the confused decision-making on the ground and the panicked responses of governments to contain the crises and often cover up the scale of the catastrophe.As the world increasingly looks to renewable and alternative sources of energy, Plokhy lucidly argues that the atomic risk must be understood in explicit terms, but also that these calamities reveal a fundamental truth about our relationship with nuclear technology: that the thirst for power and energy has always trumped safety and the cost for future generations. Read more

What really happens at the most fundamental levels of nature? Introducing Particle Physics explores the very frontiers of our knowledge, even showing how particle physicists are now using theory and experiment to probe our very concept of what is real. From the earliest history of the atomic theory through to supersymmetry, micro-black holes, dark matter, the Higgs boson, and the possibly mythical graviton, practising physicist and CERN contributor Tom Whyntie gives us a mind-expanding tour of cutting-edge science. Featuring brilliant illustrations from Oliver Pugh, Introducing Particle Physics is a unique tour through the most astonishing and challenging science being undertaken today. Read more

Quantum Theory is the most revolutionary discovery in physics since Newton. This book gives a lucid, exciting, and accessible account of the surprising and counterintuitive ideas that shape our understanding of the sub-atomic world. It does not disguise the problems of interpretation that still remain unsettled 75 years after the initial discoveries. The main text makes no use of equations, but there is a Mathematical Appendix for those desiring stronger fare. Uncertainty, probabilistic physics, complementarity, the problematic character of measurement, and decoherence are among the many topics discussed. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. Read more

"Nuclear Physics and Reactor Kinetics" is a guide to learing in-depth knowledge on nuclear physics and reactor kinetics in nuclear engineering Read more

Nuclear Reactors have changed our civilization for the better for allowing high level of electric energy production to be possible with the existing nuclear fuels. Especially with the global warming crisis, it has become more important than ever to reduce carbon emissions and nuclear reactors with their zero carbon footprint is perfect for producing electricity without aggravating global warming and carbon emissions. Moreover, like renewable energy sources it’s not dependent on the environmental conditions and can output steady amounts of power as long as it is operational. With coal power plants being phased out, the concept of nuclear energy is becoming more important than ever. Thus, this book and similar books can help students who are studying to become nuclear engineers or power engineers to understand nuclear reactor criticality, which is very important concept for nuclear power production. This book talks about nuclear reactor operation and components and then goes into depth about reactor criticality. In addition, several case studies of Nuclear Reactors are included especially TRIGA reactor.This book is highly recommended to nuclear engineering students as a handbook and as an introductory textbook to power system engineers who wish to delve into the world of nuclear reactors. Read more

"Tells the story of the rise and fall of Oppenheimer, which crucially includes the part that Lewis Strauss and Edward Teller played in his tragic life. A page-turning, enlightening read." Saul David, author of Crucible of War.16 July 1945. The very first nuclear explosion in history takes place in the American desert in New Mexico. It is the culmination of the biggest and most expensive military project of any of the warring powers, and it attracted scientists from all over the world. Nobody who saw it ever forgot the moment. “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” said Robert Oppenheimer, after having seen the incredibly bright light and felt the heat from the explosion from 10,000 yards away.‘Oppie’ had been plucked from relative obscurity, at the age of only 38, to take charge of the top-secret Los Alamos laboratory, where the main thinking behind the invention of the A-bomb took place.There, he had led a team of scientists from all over Europe and the Americas, desperately working against the clock to develop the Bomb before Hitler did. Those who remained when Hitler was dead – including Oppie – felt huge guilt that it had been used against Hiroshima and Nagasaki without any warning.After the war, Oppenheimer faced a campaign against him led by Lewis Strauss, the chair of the Atomic Energy Commission. Strauss conceived a great animus against Oppie, which continued throughout his life. He forced Oppenheimer to take part in a hearing lasting three weeks, to answer charges that he was a communist and Soviet spy - and which removed his security status and virtually exiled him in his own country. Among those who gave evidence against him was his former friend Edward Teller, the father of the H-bomb. His evidence set scientist against scientist, and helped ratchet up a global arms race. After 1945, Oppenheimer had become a well-known figure around Washington. pressing for openness about the weapon he had created – desperately trying to avoid the nuclear arms race he believed would destroy civilisation. But these were seriously dark days in the USA. Joe McCarthy was at the height of his power – and anyone who stepped out of line was suspect. As Oppenheimer discovered to his cost... David Boyle is a British author and journalist who writes mainly about history and new ideas in economics, money, business and culture. He lives in Crystal Palace, London. His books include ‘Unheard Unseen: Warfare in the Dardanelles’, ‘Towards the Setting Sun: The Race for America’ and ‘The Age to Come’. He is also the author of the Caractacus series and the Geniuses series. Praise for David Boyle:‘Exhilarating.’ Daily Mail.‘The struggle against oppression had me rooting for Caractacus.’ Alistair Forrest, author of Libertas.'A wonderfully elegant and pithy reappraisal of the “miracle” that saved Britain.' Saul David. Read more

More than seventy years ago, American forces exploded the first atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, causing great physical and human destruction. The young scientists at Los Alamos who developed the bombs, which were nicknamed Little Boy and Fat Man, were introduced to the basic principles and goals of the project in March 1943, at a crash course in new weapons technology. The lecturer was physicist Robert Serber, J. Robert Oppenheimer’s protégé, and the scientists learned that their job was to design and build the world’s first atomic bombs. Notes on Serber’s lectures were gathered into a mimeographed document titled TheLos Alamos Primer, which was supplied to all incoming scientific staff. The Primer remained classified for decades after the war. Published for the first time in 1992, the Primer offers contemporary readers a better understanding of the origins of nuclear weapons. Serber’s preface vividly conveys the mingled excitement, uncertainty, and intensity felt by the Manhattan Project scientists. This edition includes an updated introduction by Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Richard Rhodes. A seminal publication on a turning point in human history, The Los Alamos Primer reveals just how much was known and how terrifyingly much was unknown midway through the Manhattan Project. No other seminar anywhere has had greater historical consequences.   Read more

An introduction to the principles of particle physics. Solve the 100-year-old mystery which the great physicist, Paul Dirac, believed linked atoms to the secret of the entire universe. Read more

What is quantum mechanics? Learn from the experts in the ALL-NEW LADYBIRD EXPERT SERIESA clear, simple and entertaining introduction to the weird, mind-bending world of the very, very small.Written by physicist and broadcaster Professor Jim Al-Khalili, Quantum Mechanics explores all the key players, breakthroughs, controversies and unanswered questions of the quantum world.You'll discover:- How the sun shines- Why light is both a wave and a particle- The certainty of the Uncertainty Principle- Schrodinger's Cat- Einstein's spooky action- How to build a quantum computer- Why quantum mechanics drives even its experts completely crazy'Jim Al-Khalili has done an admirable job of condensing the ideas of quantum physics from Max Planck to the possibilities of quantum computers into brisk, straightforward English' THE TIMESLearn about other topics in the Ladybird Experts series including The Big Bang, Gravity, Climate Change and Evolution.Written by the leading lights and most outstanding communicators in their fields, the Ladybird Expert books provide clear, accessible and authoritative introductions to subjects drawn from science, history and culture. For an adult readership, the Ladybird Expert series is produced in the same iconic small format pioneered by the original Ladybirds. Each beautifully illustrated book features the first new illustrations produced in the original Ladybird style for nearly forty years. Read more

In this compelling introduction to the fundamental particles that make up the universe, Frank Close takes us on a journey into the atom to examine known particles such as quarks, electrons, and the ghostly neutrino. Along the way he provides fascinating insights into how discoveries in particle physics have actually been made, and discusses how our picture of the world has been radically revised in the light of these developments. He concludes by looking ahead to new ideas about the mystery of antimatter, the number of dimensions that there might be in the universe, and to what the next 50 years of research might reveal. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. Read more

"Exhaustively detailed yet eminently readable, this is an important book."Publishers Weekly, starred review"Cassidy does not so much exculpate Heisenberg as explain him, with a transparency that makes this biography a pleasure to read."Los Angeles Times"Well crafted and readable . . . [Cassidy] provides a nuanced and compelling account of Heisenberg's life."The Harvard Book ReviewIn 1992, David C. Cassidy’s groundbreaking biography of Werner Heisenberg, Uncertainty, was published to resounding acclaim from scholars and critics. Michael Frayn, in the Playbill of the Broadway production of Copenhagen, referred to it as one of his main sources and “the standard work in English.” Richard Rhodes (The Making of the Atom Bomb) called it “the definitive biography of a great and tragic physicist,” and the Los Angeles Times praised it as “an important book. Cassidy has sifted the record and brilliantly detailed Heisenberg’s actions.” No book that has appeared since has rivaled Uncertainty, now out of print, for its depth and rich detail of the life, times, and science of this brilliant and controversial figure of twentieth-century physics.Since the fall of the Soviet Union, long-suppressed information has emerged on Heisenberg’s role in the Nazi atomic bomb project. In Beyond Uncertainty, Cassidy interprets this and other previously unknown material within the context of his vast research and tackles the vexing questions of a scientist’s personal responsibility and guilt when serving an abhorrent military regime.David C. Cassidy is the author of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the American Century, Einstein and Our World, and Uncertainty. Read more

Physics: A Crash Course is the quickest way to get up to speed with the most fundamental of the sciences.   Physics tells us how the universe works – it’s behind most of our exciting technology, from space rockets and satellites to cell phones, from electric cars to MRI scanners.   This book distils the current body of knowledge into 52 manageable chunks, allowing you to to skim-read or delve in a bit deeper. There are four chapters, each prefaced by a set of biographies of the leading physicists and timelines of key events in the history of physics:   • Matter & Light outlines the forms different matter can take and the qualities of light. • Energy & Heat explores different types of energy, and the specific form of kinetic energy that is heat. • Quantum Physics brings in the central structures and implications, and developments in quantum theory. • Motion & Relativity outlines the concepts of mechanics and the other greater transformer of physics, relativity.   Taking you from inside an atom to the edge of the universe. What else could it be but a crash course in physics?   If you like this, you might also be interested in 30-Second Physics, 30-Second Quantum Physics and Quantum Theory: A Crash Course. Read more