Collected Works of H. S. Tsien (1938-1956)

Atomic Energy

Hsue-shen Tsien*

(California Institute of Technology)

The spectacular results achieved by the use of atomic bombs toward the end of World War II have greatly stimulated the interest in the possibilities of atomic energy in other fields of engineering applications. The very fact that the energy release by nuclear reactions is approximately a million times that of the more conventional chemical reactions seems to stagger one’s imagination. Although there are wide differences in opinion as to the time required to develop this branch of new-found knowledge to practical power-plant engineering, there is no diversity in the belief that a new era of technological evolution has begun. To keep abreast with the expected rapid advancement ...