- Email: [email protected]
The economics of nuclear power
Nov., sm.1
BOOK
REVIEWS
425
the method of steepest descent and Rayleigh’s principle, but are so brief as to be of doubtful value. The very useful and unusually comprehensive bibliography contains 650 refer-
utilization of atomic energy, safety criteria in atomic energy, the general problems of protection against radiations from the public
ences.
United States Atomic Energy Act of 19%. The editors and McGraw-Hill have performed a very useful service in gathering and
WILLIAM C. YAGER The Franklin Institute Laboratories THE ECONOMICS OF NUCI.EAR POWER, edited by J. Gueron, J. A. Lane, I. R. Maxwell and J. R. Menke. 513 pages, diagrams, 6 X 9 in. New York, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1957. Price, $17.00. This book, the eighth volume in a series of books on nuclear energy published by McGraw-Hill, concerns itself with as many of the aspects of the economics of nuclear energy as are currently available. It is conveniently divided into five parts: Needs and Resources, Nuclear Power Economics, Nuclear Fuel Cycles, Reactor Programmes and Reactor Economic Data, and Administration and Law. Each part is a series of separate papers written by qualified men and assembled in a unified form by the editors. The first part, Needs and Resources, is, as the title suggests, a discussion of the power needs and resources of as many of the world countries as are now known. There are papers on such subjects as world energy requirements in 1975 and 2000, resources of conventional fuels, economic growth and energy consumption, the role of atomic power in India, and the Brazilian Plan of electrification. In part two, Nuclear Power Economics, there are such papers as the Geneva and Post-Geneva Nuclear Power economic data, the atomic power market in the United States and overseas, and capital investment required for nuclear energy. In part three, Nuclear Fuel Cycles, such subjects are covered as an introduction to papers on fuel cycles, fuel cycles and types of reactors and the reactivity changes and reactivity lifetimes of fixed-fuel elements in thermal reactors. In part four, Reactor Programmes and Reactor Economic Data, there are papers on the graphite-moderated, gas-cooled pile and its place in power production; the objectives and summary of USAEC civilian power reactor program ; and reactor economic data. In part five, Administration and Law, we find such papers as the administration problems in the industrial
health point of view, and a brief survey of the
assembling in one volume significant papers on the current status of the economics of nuclear power. Of course, because nuclear power is still in its infancy, there is much yet to come, but it marks a worthwhile beginning in the long accumulation of such data. E. W. HAMMER, JR. The Budd Company BRITTLE BEHAVIOR OF ENGINEERING STRUCTURES, by Earl R. Parker. 323 pages, illustrations, 6 X 9 in. New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1957. Price, $6.00. The interest in the Brittle Behavior of Engineering Structures was stimulated during World War II by the numerous failures in welded steel merchant ships. This type of failure has also occurred in bridges, penstocks, storage tanks and pipelines. At the request of the Ship Structures Committee, The National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council originally planned to prepare a monograph on improvements of hull structures of ships. The final outcome was the organization of a project advisory committee composed of a group of experts on various aspects of the problem. The committee obtained the services of Professor Earl R. Parker as the author of this book. Since the purpose of the book is to summarize the available information on the brittle behavior of steel in engineering structures, each chapter of the book is devoted to a technical aspect of the problem. To mention a few of the subjects of interest, they are the concept and theories of fractures, test methods and results, special steels, composition of steels, welding, residual stresses, design and workmanship, service failures, and the final chapter is a summary on the subject. Each of the chapters is an interesting and comprehensive treatment of its subject. As a conclusion to most of the chapters is a summary of its subject which is very helpful. Anyone reading this text will come to realize
BOOK
REVIEWS
425
the method of steepest descent and Rayleigh’s principle, but are so brief as to be of doubtful value. The very useful and unusually comprehensive bibliography contains 650 refer-
utilization of atomic energy, safety criteria in atomic energy, the general problems of protection against radiations from the public
ences.
United States Atomic Energy Act of 19%. The editors and McGraw-Hill have performed a very useful service in gathering and
WILLIAM C. YAGER The Franklin Institute Laboratories THE ECONOMICS OF NUCI.EAR POWER, edited by J. Gueron, J. A. Lane, I. R. Maxwell and J. R. Menke. 513 pages, diagrams, 6 X 9 in. New York, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1957. Price, $17.00. This book, the eighth volume in a series of books on nuclear energy published by McGraw-Hill, concerns itself with as many of the aspects of the economics of nuclear energy as are currently available. It is conveniently divided into five parts: Needs and Resources, Nuclear Power Economics, Nuclear Fuel Cycles, Reactor Programmes and Reactor Economic Data, and Administration and Law. Each part is a series of separate papers written by qualified men and assembled in a unified form by the editors. The first part, Needs and Resources, is, as the title suggests, a discussion of the power needs and resources of as many of the world countries as are now known. There are papers on such subjects as world energy requirements in 1975 and 2000, resources of conventional fuels, economic growth and energy consumption, the role of atomic power in India, and the Brazilian Plan of electrification. In part two, Nuclear Power Economics, there are such papers as the Geneva and Post-Geneva Nuclear Power economic data, the atomic power market in the United States and overseas, and capital investment required for nuclear energy. In part three, Nuclear Fuel Cycles, such subjects are covered as an introduction to papers on fuel cycles, fuel cycles and types of reactors and the reactivity changes and reactivity lifetimes of fixed-fuel elements in thermal reactors. In part four, Reactor Programmes and Reactor Economic Data, there are papers on the graphite-moderated, gas-cooled pile and its place in power production; the objectives and summary of USAEC civilian power reactor program ; and reactor economic data. In part five, Administration and Law, we find such papers as the administration problems in the industrial
health point of view, and a brief survey of the
assembling in one volume significant papers on the current status of the economics of nuclear power. Of course, because nuclear power is still in its infancy, there is much yet to come, but it marks a worthwhile beginning in the long accumulation of such data. E. W. HAMMER, JR. The Budd Company BRITTLE BEHAVIOR OF ENGINEERING STRUCTURES, by Earl R. Parker. 323 pages, illustrations, 6 X 9 in. New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1957. Price, $6.00. The interest in the Brittle Behavior of Engineering Structures was stimulated during World War II by the numerous failures in welded steel merchant ships. This type of failure has also occurred in bridges, penstocks, storage tanks and pipelines. At the request of the Ship Structures Committee, The National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council originally planned to prepare a monograph on improvements of hull structures of ships. The final outcome was the organization of a project advisory committee composed of a group of experts on various aspects of the problem. The committee obtained the services of Professor Earl R. Parker as the author of this book. Since the purpose of the book is to summarize the available information on the brittle behavior of steel in engineering structures, each chapter of the book is devoted to a technical aspect of the problem. To mention a few of the subjects of interest, they are the concept and theories of fractures, test methods and results, special steels, composition of steels, welding, residual stresses, design and workmanship, service failures, and the final chapter is a summary on the subject. Each of the chapters is an interesting and comprehensive treatment of its subject. As a conclusion to most of the chapters is a summary of its subject which is very helpful. Anyone reading this text will come to realize