Author Description

In the face of climate change and oil shortages, nuclear technology offers many important possibilities. Half-Lives evaluates the promise of nuclear technology as a source of clean energy, as well as the wide range of applications in medicine and industry it offers in a uniquely Canadian context.Half-Lives explains the fundamentals of nuclear reactions and radioactivity with deftly crafted prose that precludes the need for a deep background in mathematics or science. The uses of nuclear technology in Canada are explored in clear, accessible language, from uranium mining to electricity-producing nuclear power reactors (including the Canadian-designed CANDU reactor), to nuclear medicine and industrial applications.First published in 2002, Half-Lives remains the only book to consider nuclear technology from a Canadian perspective; this new edition updates the issues in light of industry developments, politics, and environmental crisis.