Browsing by Author "Kean, Tom"

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    An Overview of the Nuclear Age
    (2024) Kean, Tom
    This piece is an overview of more than seventy-five years of technological growth in the use of nucle-ar material for the military, power production, and the exploration of new applications of nuclear en-ergy, such as nuclear medicine. It has three major sections: 1) the discovery of uranium and the sub-sequent research, testing, development, and deployment of nuclear weapons; 2) the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes (e.g., energy production and medical care); and 3) the potential of recent advances in nuclear technologies to provide smaller, safer, and more efficient means of nuclear power generation. Overlaying each of these sections are three subsections: a) public perceptions of the use of nuclear technologies both for military and peaceful purposes; b) safety issues, such as design flaws, accidents, unintended consequences, human error, and our willingness (or lack thereof) to learn from our mistakes; and c) the state of domestic and international relationships and tensions in the world we live in. Throughout the piece, the author has inserted opinions on aspects of the history, materials, and issues it raises; these opinions are solely the author’s.