{"product_id":"destroyer-of-worlds-the-deep-history-of-the-nuclear-age-9781541605893","title":"Destroyer of Worlds: The Deep History of the Nuclear Age","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe thrilling and terrifying seventy-year story of the physics that deciphered the atom and created the hydrogen bomb \u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Although Henri Becquerel didn't know it at the time, he changed history in 1896 when he left photographic plates and some uranium rocks in a drawer. The rocks emitted something that exposed the plates: it was the first documented evidence of spontaneous radioactivity. So began one of the most exciting and consequential efforts humans have ever undertaken. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e As Frank Close recounts in \u003ci\u003eDestroyer of Worlds\u003c\/i\u003e, scientists confronting Becquerel's discovery had three questions: What was this phenomenon? Could it be a source of unlimited power? And (alas), could it be a weapon? Answering them was an epic journey of discovery, with Ernest Rutherford, Enrico Fermi, Irene Joliot-Curie, and many others jockeying to decipher the dance of particles in a decaying atom. And it was a terrifying journey as well, as Edward Teller and others pressed on from creating atom bombs to hydrogen bombs so powerful that they could destroy all life on earth. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The deep history of the nuclear age has never before been recounted so vividly. Centered on an extraordinary cast of characters, \u003ci\u003eDestroyer of Worlds\u003c\/i\u003e charts the course of nuclear physics from simple curiosity to potential Armageddon. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrank Close\u003c\/b\u003e, OBE, FRS, is a particle physicist and an emeritus professor of physics at the University of Oxford. He is the author of over two dozen books, including \u003ci\u003eElusive\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHalf-Life\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Infinity Puzzle\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives near Oxford, UK.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Basic Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51322224279826,"sku":"9781541605893","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_31ebb8f4-bb6d-4ce4-94e3-b3ebdcb02098.jpg?v=1748605313","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/destroyer-of-worlds-the-deep-history-of-the-nuclear-age-9781541605893","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}