Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines

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W. W. Norton & Company, Aug 17, 2008 - Science - 384 pages

A San Francisco Chronicle Bestseller

We live in complicated, dangerous times. Present and future presidents need to know if North Korea's nascent nuclear capability is a genuine threat to the West, if biochemical weapons are likely to be developed by terrorists, if there are viable alternatives to fossil fuels that should be nurtured and supported by the government, if private companies should be allowed to lead the way on space exploration, and what the actual facts are about the worsening threats from climate change. This is "must-have" information for all presidents—and citizens—of the twenty-first century.

Winner of the 2009 Northern California Book Award for General Nonfiction.

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Contents

INTRODUCTION
13
NINEELEVEN
19
TERRORIST NUKES
32
THE NEXT Terrorist ATTACK
45
BIOLOGICAL TERRORISM
53
PRESIDENTIAL SUMMARY
60
SOLAR POWER
77
THE END OF OIL
86
PRESIDENTIAL SUMMARY
188
SPACE AND SATELLITES
195
GRAVITY APPLICATIONS
210
HUMANS IN SPACE
222
SPYING WITH INVISIBLE LIGHT
228
PRESIDENTIAL SUMMARY
244
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CLIMATE
251
THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT
261

NUKES
93
RADIOACTive Decay
111
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
123
NUCLEAR MADNESS
146
NUCLEAR POWER
154
NUCLEAR WASTE
171
CONTROLLED FUSION
180
A VERY LIKELY CAUSE
273
NONSOLUTIONS
300
THE FRUIT ON THE GROUND
314
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
328
PRESIDENTIAL SUMMARY
344
INDEX
361
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About the author (2008)

Richard A. Muller is professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and the best-selling author of Physics for Future Presidents. For his outstanding work in experimental cosmology, he was awarded a 1982 MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, and also a share of the 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for the discovery of dark energy.

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