Heavy Water and the Wartime Race for Nuclear Energy

Book Description

Heavy water (deuterium oxide) played a sinister role in the race for nuclear energy during the World War II. It was a key factor in Germany's bid to harness atomic energy primarily as a source of electric power; its acute shortage was a factor in Japan's decision not to pursue seriously nuclear weaponry; its very existence was a nagging thorn in the side of the Allied powers. Books and films have dwelt on the Allies' efforts to deny the Germans heavy water by military means; however, a history of heavy water has yet to be written. Filling this gap, Heavy Water and the Wartime Race for Nuclear Energy concentrates on the circumstances whereby Norway became the preeminent producer of heavy water and on the scientific role the rare isotope of hydrogen played in the wartime efforts by the Axis and Allied powers alike. Instead of a purely technical treatise on heavy water, the book describes the social history of the subject. The book covers the discovery and early uses of deuterium before World War II and its large-scale production by Norsk Hydro in Norway, especially under German control. It also discusses the French-German race for the Norwegian heavy-water stocks in 1940 and heavy water's importance for the subsequent German uranium project, including the Allied sabotage and bombing of the Norwegian plants, as well as its lesser role in Allied projects, especially in the United States and Canada. The book concludes with an overall assessment of the importance and the perceived importance of heavy water for the German program, which alone staked everything on heavy water in its quest for a nuclear chain reaction.

Customer Reviews:

a great book at great cost.......2006-10-31

This is a fantastic book, Mr Dahl is one of the few authors that I've read that doesn't feel the need to "dumb down" his material. The book is well written and chock full of technical detail. My only regret is that I had to get a copy from the library, since the $75 cost(at the time of this review) is far too steep for anything other than a textbook. If the publisher were to lower book's cost to the $20 or below price point I would happily buy a copy to add to my collection.

The thrilling history of a unique scientific substance........1999-10-19

With his newest work of science history, Heavy Water and the Wartime Race for Nuclear Energy, physicist and author Per Dahl pulls off the remarkable feat of delivering both a scholarly work and a nail-biting thriller. *** Late in 1938, Lise Meitner, Otto Hahn, and Fritz Strassman discovered the phenomenon of atomic fission; physicists everywhere realized that if chain reactions could be tamed, fission could lead to a new source of power. What was needed was a substance that could "moderate" the energy of neutrons emitted in radioactive decay, so that they could be captured by other fissionable nuclei. Heavy water was a prime candidate for the job -- its role in world affairs thus forever assured. *** While plenty of books and movies have dealt with Allied efforts to deny heavy water to the Germans in World War II, Dahl's is the first history of the substance itself -- not as "a purely technical treatise," he writes in the preface (although there are details and diagrams aplenty), but "a social history." *** Deuterium, a hydrogen atom whose nucleus includes one neutron, was discovered before the neutron itself. In 1931, most scientists thought the differing weights of isotopes were due to extra protons bound to "nuclear electrons." By Thanksgiving of that year, Columbia University chemist Harold Urey had identified the spectral lines of what he would later call deuterium in a few cubic centimeters of concentrated liquid hydrogen. Not until February 1932, in Cambridge, England, did James Chadwick discover the neutron. *** Deuterium is physically so different from ordinary hydrogen (roughly twice as massive, for one thing) that chemists eagerly turned their attention to it. They wondered what differences deuterium instead of ordinary hydrogen might make in the behavior of chemical compounds; what the effects on plants and animals of water with two deuterium atoms per molecule might be; and even what therapeutic potential this literally heavy water might possess. *** The protean Gilbert Lewis, Urey's mentor at the University of California at Berkeley, was a pioneer in these investigations, and he soon made more heavy water than Urey himself -- enough that, among many other experiments, he was able to feed two-thirds of a gram of the precious stuff to a mouse. The mouse survived, Lewis reported, but showed "marked signs of intoxication." *** Concentrating heavy water requires enormous amounts of electricity. In the 1930s, one of the few places in the world with power to spare was the Vemork plant of Norway's Norsk Hydro-Elektrisk, which had harnessed a 144-meter-high waterfall to produce fertilizers. Norsk Hydro supplied the world's scientific community with heavy water only as a sideline. Inebriated mice aside, what was it good for? *** Nuclear fission supplied the answer. The best candidates for moderators in atomic reactors were heavy water and pure graphite. Dahl relates the fascinating events, including romantic distractions, that persuaded German scientists that graphite wouldn't do the job. When, in late 1939, the Germans began ordering heavy water in very large quantities, Norsk Hydro management suspected "some kind of deviltry." *** Frédéric Joliot knew perfectly well what kind of deviltry, and with the cooperation of Norsk Hydro, the French managed to spirit the company's entire stock of heavy water, some 185 kilograms, out of the country under the noses of watching German agents. Later, Joliot's assistants smuggled most of it out of Vichy France and used it to convince the British that chain reactions were practical. *** Meanwhile the Germans had invaded Norway, and the Allies set out to destroy Vemork, a story familiar from the 1965 Hollywood film, Heroes of Telemark, starring Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris. Despite tragic loss of life, the Norwegian underground repeatedly sabotaged Vemork's heavy water production until the Germans finally gave up. *** The German attempt to build a reactor was feeble and disorganized -- and their effort to build an atomic weapon nonexistent -- but the Allies didn't know that. German interest in heavy water was a major factor in the race to build the A-bomb. *** Per Dahl masterfully recounts all these events and many more. There is wisdom in his judicious treatment of persistent historical debates, including the rancorous argument that still rages about the motivations of Hahn, Werner Heisenberg, and the other members of the German "Uranium Club." His style is lively, his research thorough, his organization superb. *** The Institute of Physics Publishing company has matched Dahl's efforts by giving Heavy Water and the Wartime Race for Nuclear Energy the scholarly apparatus and handsome production it deserves.

Book Description

This edition presents the first complete English translation of N.N. Ladygina-Kohts' journal chronicling her pioneering work with the chimpanzee, Joni. The journal entries describe and compare the instincts, emotions, play, and habits of her son Rudy and Joni as each develops. First published in Moscow in 1935 as a memoir in the Darwin Museum Series, this edition has 120 photographs, 46 drawings and an introduction by Allen and Beatrix Gardner of the Center for Advanced Study at the University of Nevada, as well as a Foreword and an Afterword by Lisa A. Parr, Signe Preuschoft, and Frans B. M. de Waal of the Living Links Center at Emory University.

Infant Chimpanzee And Human Child: A Classic 1935 Comparative Study Of Ape Emotions And Intelligence (series In Affective Science)

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Infant Chimpanzee And Human Child: A Classic 1935 Comparative Study Of Ape Emotions And Intelligence (series In Affective Science)
N. N. Ladygina-Kohts
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OK8PVC

Product Description

Since the 1980s, a general theme in the study of high-temperature superconductors has been to test the BCS theory and its predictions against new data. At the same time, this process has engendered new physics, new materials, and new theoretical frameworks. Remarkable advances have occurred in sample quality and in single crystals, in hole and electron doping in the development of sister compounds with lower transition temperatures, and in instruments to probe structure and dynamics. Handbook of High-Temperature Superconductvity is a comprehensive and in-depth treatment of both experimental and theoretical methodologies by the the world's top leaders in the field. The Editor, Nobel Laureate J. Robert Schrieffer, and Associate Editor James S. Brooks, have produced a unified, coherent work providing a global view of high-temperature superconductivity covering the materials, the relationships with heavy-fermion and organic systems, and the many formidable challenges that remain.

High-Tc Superconductivity: Experiment and Theory (Research Reports in Physics)

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High-Tc Superconductivity: Experiment and Theory (Research Reports in Physics)
A. S. Davydov
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

High-Temperature Superconductivity: Experiment and Theory

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High-Temperature Superconductivity: Experiment and Theory
N. M. Plakida
Manufacturer: Springer-Verlag Telos
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0387570721

Book Description

Each murder victim died with a smile on their face. The only one who isn't grinning is Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas-because she's got to find out why.

Download Description

Lieutenant Eve Dallas returns in this futuristic novel of police suspense

Customer Reviews:

Fantasy?!?.......2007-09-18

I loved the first few books in this series but now I am uncertain. If the future is aything like it is described in these books God help us. The main couple seem to love each other however they are constantly looking at other naked people, or lusting over someone else. It's quite discouraging. Does every story have to involve a strip joint, drug users,and one of Roarke's past lovers?

Murder on the Honeymoon.......2007-06-21

This series just keeps getting better and better, and RAPTURE IN DEATH is no exception.

Now that Eve Dallas and Roarke are finally married, they're enjoying a much needed vacation/honeymoon. But death seems to find Eve no matter where she is, and a different planet is no exception. When one of Roarke's techs ends up dead, from a supposed suicide, Eve starts to wonder if everyting is exactly what it seems.

And when they return to New York, and more prominent people end up dead by their own hand, Dallas has a hard time convincing those around her that their suicides were actually murder.

You won't go wrong with this series, and watching the interaction between newly wed Eve and Roarke is a wonderful thing. The fact that every mystery of every book is also well-developed and all-too-believable is an added bonus!

An Early Success.......2007-04-11

Not the best in the series by far. You're still getting to know the characters and not really enough time is spent focusing on who they are. The story is what it's intended to be. A distraction from reality. You're forced to "put aside" your need to get to know the character and follow them through their daily lives. This teaches a few things about the character but you don't really learn much about them until later books.

The story itself is nice, suspenseful, but could have been better with maybe 20 or 30 more pages just focusing on character explication and motivation.

Terribly Amazing.......2007-03-08

A series of deaths are ruled as suicides, and only Eve Dallas has the instinct to see them for the murders that they are. While investigating those murders, Eve is confronted by her own past and her own suicide attempt at a young age.

This book was terribly amazing. It felt like I was reading one book written by two very different authors. The beginning was terrible. The characters were flat and boring, and Roark especially came off as brainless with nothing else but sex and work on his mind. The love scenes dominated the beginning of the novel, and they were poorly written. There was no chemistry or love between the characters, and the sex seemed to be written with no emotion whatsoever. Actually, the beginning of the book looked like a cheep porn. It also felt like it was being written by an amateur author who hasn't yet mastered the skill of storytelling. Nora Roberts made common writing mistakes, like making her main male character as perfect and flawless. Her main female character was cold but yet loved by everyone for no apparent reason (that's a common mistake new or unpublished authors make). It really felt like Nora Roberts didn't care what she was writing as long as she published another book.

Soon, however, the book did a complete flip and change into an absolutely amazing novel. By chapter 10 this book was hard to put down. The flat and boring characters all of the sudden became colored by great qualities and human flaws, making them more enjoyable to read about. Eve's past was explored showing more reason for her coldness and lack of trust and commitment. Her own doubts about her gene pool added to the plot and the series in general. Roark was taken away from his robotic perfect portrayal into one with many levels that only a professional and experienced author could create. Nora Roberts explored Roark's dark side by making him do something very unforgivable, and then she wrote him as a man coming to realize his mistake and righting it the best way he knew how. The character development and the relationship plot became so good that by the end of the novel it was hard to remember the primary flaws of this book in the beginning. The mystery was also entertaining, and would have been amazing if the killer's identity would have been a bigger shocker. Truth is, I saw the killer's identity the instant the person was introduced into the story.

All in all, this book followed one very obvious formula, and that is that when a book starts badly, it ends amazingly.

Rapture in Death.......2006-12-05

As always Nora Roberts has outdone herself. Reading her In Death series simply takes me away from the ordinary and transports me into the future. So much so, that I have even started thinking in those terms! Although a Nora Roberts fan for forever, I have only now started reading her In Death series. Eve and Rourke make the perfect couple and the differences between them never get old! In this book, the use of subliminal messages was outstanding and working it into the book so that it even effects the main characters was awesome!

J.D. Robb Collection 2: Rapture in Death, Ceremony in Death, and Vengeance in Death (In Death)

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Neutral

J.D. Robb Collection 2: Rapture in Death, Ceremony in Death, and Vengeance in Death (In Death)
J.D. Robb
Manufacturer: Brilliance Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

General | Books on Cassette | Audiobooks | Formats | Books

Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1593554117
Release Date: 2004-03-10

Book Description

Rapture in Death

Three apparent suicides: a brilliant engineer, an infamous lawyer, and a controversial politician. Three strangers with nothing in common - and no obvious reasons for killing themselves. Police lieutenant Eve Dallas found the deaths suspicious. And her instincts paid off when autopsies revealed small burns on the brains of the victims. Was it a genetic abnormality or a high-tech method of murder?

Ceremony in Death

Conducting a top secret investigation into the death of a fellow police officer has Lieutenant Eve Dallas treading on dangerous ground. She must put professional ethics before personal loyalties. But when a dead body is placed outside her home, Eve takes the warning personally. With her husband, Roarke, watching her every move, Eve is drawn into the most dangerous case of her career.

Vengeance in Death

He is an expert with the latest technology...a madman with the mind of a genius and the heart of a killer. He quietly stalks his prey. Then he haunts the police with cryptic riddles about the crimes he is about to commit - always solved moments too late to save the victims' lives. Police lieutenant Eve Dallas found the first victim butchered in his own home. The second lost his life in a vacant luxury apartment. The two men had little in common. Both suffered unspeakable torture before their deaths. And both had ties to an ugly secret of ten years past - a secret shared by none other than Eve's new husband, Roarke.

Customer Reviews:

Neutral.......2006-03-15

Bought this cause im a big fan of this series and cant wait for the other books to published was kinda hoping that they have an unabridged version so i remain to wait for it.

4 Titles By J.D. Robb In Death Series (2-5) : 2. Glory in Death 3. Immortal in Death 4. Rapture in Death 5. Ceremony In Death

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4 Titles By J.D. Robb In Death Series (2-5) : 2. Glory in Death 3. Immortal in Death 4. Rapture in Death 5. Ceremony In Death
J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts)
Manufacturer: Berkley Romantic Suspense
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000RFT6XA

Product Description

multiple books ship as one item. save on shipping/handling charges.

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Eve Dallas "In Death" Series: Naked, Glory, Immortal, Rapture, Ceremony, Vengeance, Holiday, Conspiracy, Loyalty, Witness, Judgment, Betrayal, Seduction, Reunion, Purity, Portrait, Imitation, Divided, Visions, Survivor, Origin, Memory In Death (Set of 24 Futuristic Romantic Suspense Novels)
J.D. Robb , and Nora Roberts
Manufacturer: Berkley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000WB59EY

Lady Death: The Rapture #1 - The Sound of Thunder

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Lady Death: The Rapture #1 - The Sound of Thunder
BRIAN PULIDO
Manufacturer: CHAOS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
ASIN: B000SEJJ0U

Rapture in Death (RUSSIAN Language Edition)

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Rapture in Death (RUSSIAN Language Edition)
Nora Roberts / J.D. Robb
Manufacturer: Mockba
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

All Russian Books | Russian | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 5040059299

Product Description

RUSSIAN LANGUAGE PRINTING of mystery novel

Brilliance Audio.(The Messenger)(The Covenant of the Flame)(Strange Candy)(Spy)(Red Phoenix)(Rapture in Death)(Piece of Work)(Mask Market)(Looking for ... An article from: California Bookwatch

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Brilliance Audio.(The Messenger)(The Covenant of the Flame)(Strange Candy)(Spy)(Red Phoenix)(Rapture in Death)(Piece of Work)(Mask Market)(Looking for ... An article from: California Bookwatch
Gale Reference Team
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000NO39QK
Release Date: 2007-02-21

Book Description

This digital document is an article from California Bookwatch, published by Thomson Gale on November 1, 2006. The length of the article is 976 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Brilliance Audio.(The Messenger)(The Covenant of the Flame)(Strange Candy)(Spy)(Red Phoenix)(Rapture in Death)(Piece of Work)(Mask Market)(Looking for Alaska)(Into the Storm)(Incantation)(Havoc)(Haunted in Death)(Ghost Dancer)(Devil in the Junior League)(Damnation Street)(Armageddon's Children)(A Stolen Season)(Audiobook review)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: California Bookwatch (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: NA

Article Type: Audiobook review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

24 - J.D. ROBB - WITNESS IN DEATH - GLORY IN DEATH - RAPTURE IN DEATH - NAKED IN DEATH - PURITY IN DEATH - REMEMBER WHEN - BUMP IN THE NIGHT - SURVIVOR IN DEATH

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24 - J.D. ROBB - WITNESS IN DEATH - GLORY IN DEATH - RAPTURE IN DEATH - NAKED IN DEATH - PURITY IN DEATH - REMEMBER WHEN - BUMP IN THE NIGHT - SURVIVOR IN DEATH
J.D. ROBB , and NORA ROBERTS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000V8XG5M

Product Description

21 PAPERBACKS - 3 HARDBACKS.

3 Titles: J.D.Robb, Rapture, Vengeance & Ceremony in Death (3 DEATH TITLES, RAPTURE, VENGEANCE & CEREMONY IN DEATH, DEATH)

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3 Titles: J.D.Robb, Rapture, Vengeance & Ceremony in Death (3 DEATH TITLES, RAPTURE, VENGEANCE & CEREMONY IN DEATH, DEATH)
J.D.ROBB
Manufacturer: BERRRKLEY BOOKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000TPLZVO

Product Description

J.D Robb is the pseudonym of New York, bestselling author Nora Roberts. I Rapture in Death, she portrays a shocking new world of crime -where even the lastest technology is no match for the passions of the heart. In Vengeance in Death, she shows us the fierce world of the future-where heartless killers still roam free. In Ceremony in Death, she portrays a new age of criminal investigation-where technolgy becomes a tool for the desires of the heart

7 Nora Roberts/JD Robb Books: Naked in Death, Glory in Death, Immortal in Death , Rapture in Death, Vengeance in Death, Ceremony in Death, Witness in Death (Unboxed Set of In Death Series Books)

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7 Nora Roberts/JD Robb Books: Naked in Death, Glory in Death, Immortal in Death , Rapture in Death, Vengeance in Death, Ceremony in Death, Witness in Death (Unboxed Set of In Death Series Books)
J.D. Robb , and J D Robb
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WOIAQU

Product Description

7 Nora Roberts/JD Robb Books: Naked in Death, Glory in Death, Immortal in Death , Rapture in Death, Vengeance in Death, Ceremony in Death, Witness in Death (Unboxed Set of In Death Series Books), in either Hard or Softcover, (See Seller Condition Comments), Shipped in one package to save on shipping costs.

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