Bernstein J. Plutonium: A History of the World's Most Dangerous Element

Joseph Henry Press, 2007. — 194 p.Plutonium was the heaviest natural element found in minute amounts of pitchblende in the mining area of Saxony, Germany, at the beginning of the 20th century. The radioactive substance is now overwhelmingly prevalent, and because of its extensive half-life, it poses an environmental threat. Intrigued by its bizarre chemical and physical properties and its subsequent role in nuclear reactions, physicist Bernstein, who has written both technical papers and popular science (e.g., Oppenheimer: Portrait of an Enigma), here traces plutonium's history and describes its chemical and physical properties along with its role in the construction of nuclear arms. Running through a spectrum of Nobel prize winners, he grippingly portrays the race to develop the first nuclear weapon during World War II as well as the interplay among the global personalities involved.