Citizen Scientist: Collected Essays of Frank von Hippel (Masters of Modern Physics) - Hardcover

Hippel, Frank Von

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0883187094 ISBN 13: 9780883187098

Publisher: American Institute of Physics, 1991

Synopsis

"Blurb & Contents" Frank von Hippel has been at the forefront of those scientists grappling with the troubled legacy of our Nuclear Age. Von Hippel offers insights about the choices we must make and how science can help us to make them. Topics include nuclear power, atomic weapons, disarmament, energy and the future of automobiles. The scientist's role in public life and the importance of "making trouble" is emphasized. Of interest to physicists, particularly those working in nuclear physics, policy makers, environmentalists and those concerned with nuclear disarmament and the role of science in society.

About this title

Reviews

In a provocative, sometimes shocking report, von Hippel charges that the executive branch of the federal government consistently misrepresents scientific advice to the public and Congress by distorting facts and concealing much of the data that scientific advisers provide. A physicist and Princeton professor of public and international affairs, the author cites as evidence the government's positions on nuclear reactor safety, aftereffects of "limited" nuclear war, crop destruction programs in South Vietnam, pesticide regulation and antiballistic missile systems. A leading advocate of nuclear arms control, von Hippel here debates Edward Teller on disarmament and offers a devastating analysis of the long-term health effects of the Chernobyl disaster. While his suggestion that methanol-powered cars are more energy-efficient than electric cars is debatable, his call for automotive fuel economy to reduce U.S. dependence on Persian Gulf oil is timely, and his recommendations for due-process protections of professional whistle-blowers are widely applicable.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: American Institute of Physics
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0883187094
• ISBN 13: 9780883187098
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 303