A to Z of Nuclear Power

I read an intriguing book by Saurav Jha called 'The Upside Down Book of Nuclear Power'. It is the most comprehensive stuff about nuclear power you can find in one place, and is written by an economist who seems to know almost as much as nuclear physicists- at least more than electrical engineers like me- do about nuclear power. Many of the myths associated with this energy form are cleared effectively. I think the govt. could do well to make this compulsory reading for all those involved in policy making AND SELLING THE POLICY to the public.

I found the research fascinating, and some of the gems hidden in it are mind-boggling. Example- nuclear reactors can, as a by-product of their core activity, desalinate sea water! Can you imagine how that would affect future water-warriors of our world? And an unhidden gem is that India can do more than many with Thorium instead of Uranium-at some point in future.

The arguments about renewable versus nuclear power are pretty persuasive, but could change if renewables technology progresses into hitherto uncharted territory. In any case, for a central, large facility, there is no comparison between the nuclear/conventional and the renewables. It is only for smaller, decentralised applications that renewables are pretty good even today.

Environmentalists get the rough end of the stick in this book, and rightly so. In fact, nuclear energy is potentially the cleanest, if waste disposal is properly attended to. Russia seems to have set everybody back by a few years by letting the Chernobyl disaster happen.

A minor grouse is that China's emergence as a nuclear power - how they did it in particular, is not clear to the reader. In general, shenanigans of various other nuclear powers are dealt with very well.

There have been stories about nuclear waste being dumped in cahoots with African dictators in their countries. The truth or otherwise needs a mention. Overall, an interesting, informative read.

An irrelevant aside- should the book have gone from Z to A in its chapters instead of from A to Z, to go with its title?