![[Book #73179] Evaluation of Quantification of Margins and Uncertainties; Methodology...](https://groundzerobooksltd.cdn.bibliopolis.com/images/noimage.png?auto=webp)
Washington DC: The National Academies Press, 2009. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Trade paperback. xii, 79, [1] pages. Glossary. Footnotes. Figures. Cover has slight wear and soiling. More
Washington DC: The National Academies Press, 2010. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Wraps. xvii, [1], 134 pages. Footnotes. Illustrations (Tables, Figures, Photographs, some with color). References. Bibliography. Appendixes. Glossary and Selected Acronyms. The United States spends approximately $4 million each year searching for near-Earth objects (NEOs). The objective is to detect those that may collide with Earth. The majority of this funding supports the operation of several observatories that scan the sky searching for NEOs. This, however, is insufficient in detecting the majority of NEOs that may present a tangible threat to humanity. A significantly smaller amount of funding supports ways to protect the Earth from such a potential collision or “mitigation.” In 2005, a Congressional mandate called for NASA to detect 90 percent of NEOs with diameters of 140 meters or greater by 2020. Defending Planet Earth: Near-Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies identifies the need for detection of objects as small as 30 to 50 meters as these can be highly destructive. The book explores four main types of mitigation including civil defense, “slow push” or “pull” methods, kinetic impactors and nuclear explosions. It also asserts that responding effectively to hazards posed by NEOs requires national and international cooperation. Defending Planet Earth: Near-Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies is a useful guide for scientists, astronomers, policy makers and engineers. More
Washington DC: The National Academies Press, 2005. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Wraps. xii, 134 pages. Illustrations (some in color). Letter from the Study Director to a Department of Energy official providing copies laid in. Table of Contents includes: Front Matter; Summary; 1 Introduction; 2 Hard and Deeply Buried Targets; 3 Earth-Penetrator Weapons; 4 Effectiveness of Nuclear Weapons Against Hard and Deeply Buried Targets; 5 Fallout and Tools for Calculating Effects of Release of Hazardous Materials; 6 Human and Environmental Effects; 7 Conventional Weapons; 8 Uncertainty in Estimates of Effects; 9 Conclusions; Appendix A: Committee and Staff; Appendix B: Agendas; Appendix C: Equivalent Yield Factors for Energy Coupling; and Appendix D: Acronyms and Abbreviations. An earth-penetrating weapon (EPW), is the nuclear equivalent of the conventional bunker buster. The non-nuclear component of the weapon is designed to penetrate soil, rock, or concrete to deliver a nuclear warhead to an underground target. These weapons would be used to destroy hardened, underground military bunkers or other below-ground facilities. An underground explosion releases a larger fraction of its energy into the ground, compared to a surface burst or air burst explosion at or above the surface, and so can destroy an underground target using a lower explosive yield. This in turn could lead to a reduced amount of radioactive fallout. However, it is unlikely that the explosion would be completely contained underground. As a result, significant amounts of rock and soil would be rendered radioactive and lofted as dust or vapor into the atmosphere, generating significant fallout. More
Washington D.C. The National Academies Press, 2003. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Trade paperback. xii, 46 pages. Footnotes. Acronyms. Cover has slight wear and soling. The committee assessed the status of supercomputing in the United States, including the characteristics of relevant systems and architecture research in government, industry, and academia and the characteristics of the market. The committee examined key elements of context--the history of supercomputing, research investment, the needs of government agencies for supercomputing capabilities--and assessed options for progress. Key historical or causal factors were identified. The committee examined the changing nature of problems demanding supercomputing (e.g., weapons design, modeling and simulation, cryptanalysis, climate modeling) and the implications for systems design. This is its interim report. More
Washington DC: The National Academies Press, 2013. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Trade paperback. xiv, 103, [1] pages. References. Illustrations. Footnotes. Appendices. Acronyms. Pencil erasure residue on title page. Format is approximately 7 inches by 10 inches. In the fall of 2010, the Office of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Secretary for Science asked for a National Research Council (NRC) committee to investigate the prospects for generating power using inertial confinement fusion (ICF) concepts, acknowledging that a key test of viability for this concept-ignition -could be demonstrated at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the relatively near term. The committee was asked to provide an unclassified report. However, DOE indicated that to fully assess this topic, the committee's deliberations would have to be informed by the results of some classified experiments and information, particularly in the area of ICF targets and nonproliferation. Thus, the Panel on the Assessment of Inertial Confinement Fusion Targets was assembled, composed of experts able to access the information. The panel was charged with advising the Committee on the Prospects for Inertial Confinement Fusion Energy Systems on these issues, both by internal discussion and by this unclassified report. More
Washington DC: The National Academies Press, 2013. Prepublication copy--subject to further editorial correction. Wraps. [8], 16, 56, 54, 24, 65 pages. Footnotes. Illustrations (Tables and Figures). Rear cover creased. The potential for using fusion energy to produce commercial electric power was first explored in the 1950s. Harnessing fusion energy offers the prospect of a nearly carbon-free energy source with a virtually unlimited supply of fuel. Unlike nuclear fission plants, appropriately designed fusion power plants would not produce the large amounts of high-level nuclear waste that requires long-term disposal. Due to these prospects, many nations have initiated research and development (R&D) programs aimed at developing fusion as an energy source. Two R&D approaches are being explored: magnetic fusion energy (MFE) and inertial fusion energy (IFE). An Assessment of the Prospects for Inertial Fusion Energy describes and assesses the current status of IFE research in the United States; compares the various technical approaches to IFE; and identifies the scientific and engineering challenges associated with developing inertial confinement fusion (ICF) in particular as an energy source. It also provides guidance on an R&D roadmap at the conceptual level for a national program focusing on the design and construction of an inertial fusion energy demonstration plant. More
Washington DC: The National Academies Press, 2005. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Wraps. xvi, 122 pages. Illustrations (Figures, Tables, Boxes, and Charts). Acronyms. Footnotes. References. Cover has slight wear and soiling. The global spread of expertise in science and technology and commercial access to advanced technologies with possible military applications could undermine the technological superiority on which U.S. military strength is based. To address this possibility, the U.S. intelligence community must provide adequate, effective warnings of the evolution of critical technologies. The Technology Warning Division of the Defense Intelligence Agency asked the National Academies to undertake a study of technology warning issues. This report, the first part of that study, provides an assessment of critical, evolving technologies; postulates ways potential adversaries could disrupt their development; and identifies warning signs that disruptive methods are under development. The intention of this report is to establish the foundation for a long-term relationship between the National Academies and the technology warning community to support ongoing studies of technology warning issues. More
Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2003. Presumed first edition/first printing. Trade paperback. xvi, 206 p. Illustrations (some in color). Glossary and Acronyms. More