Question: Your job seems really interesting! Do you have any recommended reads about nuclear physics?

Sam Smith answered on 24 Sep 2020:

Hi Ella, thank you! It is quite a fun job!

The best series I would recommend are the “Very Short Introduction” books, specifically “Climate” by Mark Maslin, “Climate Change” by Mark Maslin, “Nuclear Power” by Maxwell Irvine and “Particle Physics” by Frank Close (I got my copy at CERN!). I would also recommend a book called “Fallout” by Fred Pearce, it gives a good account of some of the more negative things that go on in the nuclear sector.

Some others include “Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy” by Serhii Plokhy, “How to Drive a Nuclear Reactor” by Colin Tucker (got my copy on order) and “The Fall and Rise of Nuclear Power in Britain: A History Paperback” by Simon Taylor. For other environmental topics, would definitely recommend “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson, “The Future of Energy: 2020 Edition” by John Armstrong, and “Ocean of Life” by Callum Roberts (one of my lecturers at uni).

I would also recommend the websites of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Nuclear Association (their library is amazing) and The Guardian’s Environment section (probably the best paper for reporting on the Environment). Site based environmental management isn’t really covered in any books outside of the IEMA handbook, but that one is quite expensive!