safety, xii; ABC News stunt and, 379–82, 394; airplane crashes and, 375–79, 383–87, 394–96; atomic particles and, 67–69; B-52 bombers and, 375–79, 383–87; Becquerel and, 41; bombs and, 376, 378–79, 383–85, 388; Bragg and, 243; bulky adducts and, 280; candles and, 15; causation and, 120, 317, 320, 323; cell phones and, 311, 322; Chrome Dome and, 385–87, 389, 394; cohort studies and, 194–98, 203–5, 279, 292, 312–14, 323, 328, 441n17; corona effects and, 68, 166; Crowe and, 67–68; CT scans and, 200–201, 303–7, 370, 434n26; diagnostic radiography and, 293; dose limits and, 97, 99, 101, 203, 229–30, 283, 370–71, 448n39; Edison and, 15, 33, 94–95; effective dose and, 294–96, 298–99, 303, 306, 334–40, 365, 367, 370–71, 442n6, 445nn13 and 15; electricity and, 11–15; EPA and, 278, 282, 285, 287–91, 336, 440n3, 441n34; fail-safe mechanisms and, 354–55, 387; false-negatives and, 308; false-positives and, 291, 297–98, 301–2, 304, 308, 442n10; fear and, 1–3, 187–88, 191–92; fire and, 8, 11, 14–15, 63, 144–45, 147, 149, 159, 163, 185, 311, 352, 359, 386, 430n14; food and, 330, 335–36, 445n11; Fukushima nuclear power plant and, 330–33, 335, 343–46, 349–50, 352, 356–57, 362, 364, 366–71, 419n47; gaslight fires and, 15; Haber’s rule and, 281–82; health physicists and, 133; hydrogen bombs and, 375–87; ICBMs and, 387–88; infertility and, 122, 324–25; interactive complexity and, 361–62; International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and, 360, 364; linear no threshold (LNT) model and, 283–84, 440n11; MAD strategy and, 392, 450n22; mammograms and, 297–304, 307–8, 334; Manhattan Project and, 103–7; Marconi and, 19; Marie Curie and, 92–93, 101; maximum tolerable dose (MTD) and, 99, 102–4, 107, 109, 421n52; millisievert measurement and, 107–9, 282; “moving target” argument and, 300, 360, 387; normal accidents and, 362; nuclear deterrence measures and, 375, 381–83, 433n52; nuclear power and, 335–36, 355, 358–64, 370–71, 422n75, 432n45, 447n15, 449n1; NUKEMAP program and, 393; number needed to harm (NNH) and, 285–86, 295–96, 299, 301, 306–7, 314–15, 321, 338, 343, 361, 365, 442n7; number needed to treat (NNT) and, 286, 300–301, 307, 343, 442n7; occupational illness and, 96–97, 101–4, 106, 110, 112; odds ratios and, 286, 441n17; over-engineering and, 203; preemptive attacks and, 385–86; QUICK COUNT program and, 389–92; radiation burns and, 31–32, 36–37, 67, 114, 121, 134, 149–52, 159, 163, 167–68, 174, 319; radioactive fallout and, 170, 182; radioactivity and, 41; radio waves and, 19; radon and, 276, 292; relative risks and, 286, 441n17; risk-benefit analysis and, 202, 292, 299, 301, 306, 339, 341, 343; Roentgen and, 28–29, 419n7; Roentgen Society and, 97; rule of succession and, 388–89; seawalls and, 353–54, 356–58, 373; terrorism and, 190, 379–83, 392, 394–95; turkey illusion and, 388–89; uncertainty and, 389–90 (see also uncertainty); unknown unknowns and, 342–43, 361–63; US Customs and, 380–81; US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and, 335–36; working level month (WLM) and, 282–85, 440n9, 441n34; x-rays and, 28–29, 33, 97, 243. See also health issues
Safety Light Corporation, 96, 96–97
sailfish, 326
salted bomb, 184–85
Salumbrino, Agostino, 423n6
Sasaki, Terufumi, 145–58, 167, 188, 427n8
scanners, 1, 303–4
Schiffner, Carl, 84, 276
Schmidt, Albert, 116–17
Schneeberg mine, 81–85, 90, 96–97, 276, 278, 419n1, 424n14
Schumann, Horst, 437n29
Schuster, Arthur, 254
Scipio Aemillianus, 184
Scopes, John, 222, 436n26
Scottow Hill, 310–11
scrotum, 83, 122, 134
seawalls, 353–54, 356–58, 373
selenium, 22
Sepia braggi, 239, 269
September 11, 2001, 190, 379, 381, 383
Shigeto, Fumio, 188–89
shock waves, 144–45, 150, 160, 163, 185, 352, 390, 430n14
shortwave radio, 412n27
Shrimp (hydrogen bomb), 167, 171–77, 431n19
Sievert, Rolf Maximilian, 108
silica, 82, 251
skip propagation, 412n27
Slotin, Louis, 111, 170, 354–55
smoking: bronchial damage from, 280; bulky adducts and, 280; death demographics of, 287–88; EPA and, 441n34; lung cancer and, 201, 279–80, 284–91, 302, 422n64, 441n34; radon sensitivity and, 279–80, 284–91
Snow, John, 192–94, 208
Sochocky, Sabin von, 86, 96
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), 12–13, 412n11
Soddy, Frederick, 54, 416n8, 416n10
sodium, 177–78, 251, 333, 444n6
Soiland, Albert, 134, 139
Soviet Union: communism and, 218–25; Muller and, 218–22; politics and, 174, 218–22, 385, 390–92, 429n36, 431nn19 and 29, 432n52, 436n23; Stalin and, 218–20
Spanish flu, 130, 429n38
Spark, The (underground newspaper), 218
spark gap detectors, 400–401
spectrum, 34–35, 158, 398, 422n72
Spencer, Percy, 113–14, 135
sperm, 436n15; castration and, 122, 223, 231, 423n9, 437n29; genetics and, 218, 221, 223, 228–31; infertility and, 122, 324–25; radiation sickness and, 153, 167–68; radiation therapy and, 122; testicles, 122, 153, 167, 187, 230–31, 423n9
spies, 18, 105, 220, 429, 431, 431n29
Splettstocher, Frances, 86–88, 92
stakeholders, 3, 292
Stalin, Joseph, 218–20
Standard Chemical Company, 127–28, 130, 424n22, 425n23
standard international (SI) units, 108
Stanford University, 327
static electricity, 10, 106, 277
steam turbines, 347
sterilization: castration and, 122, 223, 231, 423n9, 437n29; forced, 223; irradiated mice and, 226–27; radiation and, 97, 122–23, 217, 223, 226–27, 230–31, 423n9, 437n29, 444n18, 446n25
Sternberg, Carl, 136
Stevens Institute of Technology, 393
Stone, Robert S., 109
Stony Brook University, 330
Strategic Air Command (SAC), 385–86
Strauss, Lewis Lichtenstein, 169–70
Strecker, Adolf, 235–36
strontium, 92, 175, 177–81, 331, 333
subpopulations, 279
supernova, 415n13
sushi, 329, 333, 336, 345
S waves, 349–50
Szilárd, Leó, 72, 74, 184, 432n52
Taleb, Nassim, 389
Tanguay, Karen, 311
Taylor, Lauriston, 102–3
telegraphs, 11, 17–18, 68
telephones, 125. See also cell phones
tellurium, 175
terrorism, 190, 379–83, 392, 394–95
Tesla, Nikola, 12, 259, 413n37
testicles, 122, 153, 167, 187, 230–31, 423n9
thallium, 22
Third Punic War, 184
Thompson, Silvanus Phillips, 28, 413n47
Thomson, Joseph John: atomic particles and, 51–54, 56; Barkla and, 404; Bragg and, 237, 248, 251, 261; discovery of electrons, 51; electrical conductivity of gases and, 52; Nobel Prize and, 51–52; plum pudding model of, 51–52, 54, 56, 61, 65, 77, 260; Rutherford and, 52–54
Thomson, William (Lord Kelvin), 187, 402, 413n47, 450n3
thorium, 100
Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, 358–59, 363, 380, 388
Thule AFB, 386
thymine, 240, 264
thyroid gland, 176–77, 179, 182, 365–66, 432n34
Tibbets, Paul Warfield, 141–44, 146, 150, 376, 427n6
Titan II missiles, 375, 387
Titanic (ship), 17
Todd, Charles, 238, 242, 243, 257
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), 350, 355–57, 447n15
tolerance dose, 217, 233
Topsy the elephant, 12–14
Townley, Robert E., 374–75
toxicity, 15; Haber’s Rule and, 281–82, 440n8; homeopathy and, 118–21, 126, 214; occupational illness and, 82–83, 104, 419n3, 423n76; radioactive fallout and, 169; subpopulations and, 279
tracer studies, 327–28, 345
transatlantic cable, 17
transmutation, 54, 416n10, 418n33, 435n13
tritium, 430nn15 and 16, 431n29
Truman, Harry S., 27, 191, 193
tsunamis: assessment of, 257–59; description of, 351; earthquakes and, 351–60, 362, 368, 372–73; historical, 371–73, 447nn14 and 15; Rasmussen model and, 359–60; seamen protocol for, 351–52; seawalls and, 353–54, 356–58, 373; tectonic plates and, 351; warning signs of, 352–53; warning stones for, 371–73
Tsuzuki, Masao, 168, 193–94
tuberculosis, 82, 317
tuna: bluefin, 326–30, 333, 335–39, 341, 343–45, 445n15; cesium and, 326, 330–49; depletion of, 329; Fisher and, 330, 332, 338, 341; Fukushima nuclear power plant and, 330–33, 335, 343–45; isotopes in, 327, 330–39; Japan and, 328–30, 332, 336, 341, 343; Lucky Dragon No. 5 and, 165; Madigan and, 326–28, 330, 332, 338, 341, 344; migration of, 327–28, 330, 332, 345; potassium and, 336–38, 343; price of, 329; radioactive, 165, 326–39, 341, 344–45, 429n3; spawning of, 328; sushi and, 329, 333, 336, 345; worldwide demand for, 329
tunable Bragg reflector, 269
tungsten, 10
tunneling theory, 65–66
turkey illusion, 388–89
Turner AFB, 375
Twain, Mark, ix, 38, 164, 206, 234, 275, 310, 374, 397, 409
Uhlig, Margaret, 85
Ulpian, 192
ultraviolet light, 35–37, 150, 151, 414n61
uncertainty: accidental detonation and, 389; decision-making and, 397; dose modeling and, 340–43; nuclear power plants and, 359, 361, 363–64; overprotection policies and, 203; statistical variability and, 446n20; unknown unknowns and, 342–43, 361–63; worst-case scenarios and, 389–90
University of California at Berkeley, 343
University of Manchester, 248, 261
University of Nancy, 400
University of Texas, 218
unknown unknowns, 342–43, 361–63
uranium: ABC News stunt and, 379–82, 394; atomic particles and, 55, 72–74; Becquerel and, 39–42; Belgian Congo and, 130, 425n24; cancer and, 140, 190, 284; cesium and, 332; Curies and, 47–49; decay chain of, 276; depleted, 379–81; discovery of, 414n3; enriched, 380; Hiroshima bomb and, 159, 375–76, 426n3, 427n5, 431n21, 433n53, 447n8; Manhattan Project and, 425n24 (see also Manhattan Project); Nazis and, 425n24; occupational illness and, 85, 105, 112, 284; photo-excitable shell of, 414n4; Po-210 and, 445n15; radiation sickness and, 140, 159–60; radioactive fallout and, 177; radioactivity and, 39–42, 45, 47–49, 414nn3 and 4; radioisotopes and, 55, 415nn11 and 13; radon from decay of, 276 (see also radon); scarcity of, 41; spontaneous fission and, 42; supernovae and, 415n13; tailings and, 440n3; Watras house and, 276
US Advisory Committee on X-Ray and Radium Protection, 99
US Bureau of Mines, 129
US Customs, 380–81
US Defense Department, 390
US Department of Energy (DOE), 182–83
US Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA), 278, 282, 285, 287–91, 336, 440n3, 441nn31 and 34
US Federal Trade Commission, 95
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 95, 335, 445n10
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), 335–36, 359, 422nn66 and 71
US Public Health Service, 101, 103, 275
US Radium, 95–96, 289
uterus, 130, 231, 425n28
Utirik, 177
Uwabe, Setsuko, 368–69
Uwabe, Takuya, 368–69
vacuum tubes, 10, 22–23
vaginas, 130, 425n28
Vavilov, Nikolai Ivanovich, 218, 220, 436n25
Victoreen Company, 106
Villard, Paul, 415n14
villi, 146, 153–54
Virchow, Rudolph, 97–98, 120
viruses, 178–79, 232, 235, 246–47, 317, 328
Wall, Helen, 88
Walton, Ernest, 62–63, 67–68, 418n33
warheads, 184, 375–76, 378–79, 386–87, 394
Watanabe, Kai, 367–68
watch dials. See dial painters
Waterbury Clock Company, 86–87, 92
Watras, Diane, 291
Watras, Stanley J.: radon in home of, 275–78, 290–91, 440n3, 441n34; sets off radiation detectors, 275–77
Watras house: EPA and, 278, 282, 285, 287–91, 440n3, 441n34; false-positives and, 291; radon in, 275–78, 290–91, 440n3, 441n34; Reading, Pennsylvania and, 276; spring under, 276
Watson, James D., 253, 412n25; background of, 263; Bragg and, 266–68; competition with Pauling and, 263–67; DNA and, 233–35, 253, 263–68, 438n46; double helix and, 265–67, 439n48; Lucky Jim and, 267–68; Muller and, 233; Nature journal and, 266–67; Nobel Prize and, 267; treatment of Franklin by, 267
wattage, 18, 412nn25 and 26
wavelength: color and, 35–36; crest and, 33–34; electromagnetism and, 33–37, 412nn20 and 27; energy and, 34, 36; importance of, 33–37; light and, 33–35; properties and, 34; radio waves and, 18, 113, 412n27; skip propagation and, 412n27; spectrum and, 34–35, 158, 398, 422n72; wattage and, 18; x-rays and, 34
weather, 169–71, 173, 378–79
Wellerstein, Alex, 393
Westinghouse, George, 11–14
Westinghouse Electric Company, 350
Westover AFB, 375, 378
Wilkins, Maurice, 263–67
Williams, Francis H., 32–33
Wilson, C.T.R., 251
Wilson, Woodrow, 132
Wood, Robert W., 401–4
working level month (WLM), 282–85, 341, 440n9, 441n34
World Health Organization (WHO), 290, 312
World Trade Center, 190, 380, 394
World War I, 93, 429n38; Battle of Loos and, 183; Bikini Atoll and, 171; Bragg and, 259–61; chemical weapons and, 262, 439n36; fluorescent watch dials and, 87; Haber and, 440n8; Marconi and, 18; radon and, 85; Roentgen poverty and, 413n46
World War II, 207, 375, 439n36; arms race and, 105; atomic bombs and, 42 (see also atomic bombs); Bikini Atoll and, 171; DNA research and, 262; Hirohito surrender and, 161, 448n17; linacs and, 135; maximum tolerable dose (MTD) and, 102–3; mission risk levels and, 141; radar and, 18, 112–13; US entry into, 106, 421n61
Würzburg Physical Medical Society, 26
Wyatt, Ben H., 171
x-ray mirrors, 185
x-rays, xi; atomic particles and, 54, 62; Barkla and, 404–5; Becquerel and, 38–41; Blondlot and, 398–404, 450n2; bones and, 24–26, 31, 38, 102, 242–43, 245, 268, 294, 299; bouncing of, 250–53; Bragg and, 242–45, 249, 250–54, 255, 258–59, 268–69, 295; Bragg’s law and, 249, 253–55, 265; cancer and, 31–32, 34, 84, 117–22, 124–25, 130–31, 133–38, 188, 190, 202, 204, 419n7; cell phones and, 316, 319; Cox and, 54; Crookes and, 30; Crookes tubes and, 398 (see also Crookes tubes); crystallography and, 250–65; CT scans and, 200–201, 303–7, 370, 434n26; Cunning and, 20, 27, 54, 242; Dally and, 31–33; dental, 3, 106, 202, 204; diagnostic, 1, 20, 32, 54, 242, 294–304, 307, 334; DNA structure and, 250–65, 268–69; dosimetrists and, 334; double helix and, 265–67, 439n48; Edison and, 30–32; exposure time to, 27–28; fear of, 3; first medical use of, 20; fluoroscope and, 30–32, 245; genetics and, 207, 222; Grubbe and, 117–18; health issues and, 28–33; Helmholtz and, 20; ionization chambers and, 98, 106, 404; as ionizing radiation, 37; irritation hypothesis and, 120; mammograms and, 297–304, 307–8, 334; Marie Curie and, 49, 93, 100–101; media attention of, 26–27; occupational illness and, 84, 92–94, 97–103, 106, 108, 113, 156; organ doses and, 334; photography and, 24–29, 242, 245, 258, 263–66; polarization of, 398–400, 404–5; radiation sickness and, 149, 151, 156; radiation therapy and, 117–25, 130–31; radioactive fallout and, 185; reflection of, 250–65, 269; Roentgen and, 20–21, 24–30, 32, 38–40, 62, 77, 242, 398–401, 413n47; Rollins and, 32–33; Rutherford and, 251–52; safety and, 28–29, 33, 97, 243; spark gap detectors and, 400–401; Tesla and, 413n37; tissue damage and, 32–33; as top news story, 26–27; wavelength of, 34–36
, 45–46; Williams and, 32–33
Yamagiwa, Katsusaburo, 319
Yamamoto, Hisao, 193
zinc sulfide, 86
zirconium, 175
Zueblin, Ernst, 94
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