Sun in a Bottle: The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking (Unabridged)
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4.5 • 6 Ratings
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- $21.99
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
When weapon builders detonated the first hydrogen bomb in 1952, they tapped into the vastest source of energy in our solar system: the very same phenomenon that makes the sun shine. Nuclear fusion was a virtually unlimited source of power that became the center of a tragic and comic quest that has left scores of scientists battered and disgraced.
For the past half century, governments and research teams have tried to bottle the sun with lasers, magnets, sound waves, particle beams, and chunks of metal as they struggled to harness the power of fusion. (The latest venture, a giant, multibillion-dollar international fusion project called ITER, is just now getting under way.) Again and again, they have failed, disgracing generations of scientists.
Throughout this fascinating journey, Charles Seife introduces us to the daring geniuses, villains and victims of fusion science: the brilliant and tortured Andrei Sakharov; the monomaniacal and Strangelovean Edward Teller; Ronald Richter, the secretive physicist whose lies embarrassed an entire country; and Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann, the two chemists behind one of the greatest scientific fiascoes of the past 100 years.
Sun in a Bottle is the first audiobook to trace the story of fusion from its beginnings into the 21st century, explaining how scientists have gotten burned by trying to harness the power of the sun.
Customer Reviews
Ph.D. Engineer-Scientist
This is a really excellent book, combining both the history of the development of fusion as well as clearly written details about how the various machines that attempted to create energy from the fusion reaction. it begins with Edward Teller and the development of the H bomb and brings the reader up to date with the more recent giant machines intended to harness the fusion process and create energy using the same reaction that powers the sun. Thus far, these machines, many of which are based on ingenious cutting edge physics, all have required more energy input than they produced as output. A serious practical problem must be overcome before fusion can produce limitless energy -- finding a "bottle" that can contain the enormous temperatures of the sun's reaction. The audio book is very well presented, and the book is clearly written for everyone to understand. The story of the history of efforts to harness the fusion reaction -- and the many failed attempts by worldwide scientists along the way -- is required reading for all persons in the present century who believe that, as the world runs out of oil, scientists and engineers will come up with a "magic bullet" alternative energy source to fossil fuels, such as harnessing the sun's energy.