Atomic Energy of Canada Limited

I was hoping to learn things from this book, but alas, I do not think I possess sufficient knowledge of the nuclear field to really absorb everything that the authors talk about. Everything just kind of whizzes by over my head, and even the diagrams are not that helpful because I can't really see what the process is. Still, I was forewarned with the title: "A Technical History". This book is indeed very technical, and I am sure people with experience in this field would find it interesting.

The first chapter did yield some funny (!) footnotes, including this one:

"The mechanical design of ZEEP was done at NRC in Ottawa under extreme secrecy, which forbade any public mention of the nuclear interest of the project. A security-minded visitor to the design office was appalled when a stranger looked in and asked, 'Have you had your neutrons yet?' The visitor was somewhat mollified when he learned that there was a general staff NRC newsletter called 'The Neutron', so named because, like neutrons, it was free of charge."

ARR ARR ARR I love bad science puns.

Anyway, I have resolved not to let this book be a total waste; the index handily indicates on which page a given entry is explained, so I shall harvest those terms and explanations in case I come across them in my work. Then I shall forego the rest of the book until I feel smart enough to read it.… (more)