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    Sun in a Bottle: The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking
    Sun in a Bottle: The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking
    Sun in a Bottle: The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking
    Audiobook9 hours

    Sun in a Bottle: The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking

    Written by Charles Seife

    Narrated by Bill Weideman

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    With his knack for translating science into understandable, anecdotal prose and his trademark dry humor, award-winning science writer Charles Seife presents the first narrative account of the history of fusion for general readers in more than a decade. Tracing the story from its beginning into the twenty-first century, Sun in a Bottle reveals fusion's explosive role in some of the biggest scientific scandals of all time. Throughout this journey, he introduces us to the daring geniuses, villains, and victims of fusion science. With the giant international fusion project ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) now under construction, it's clear that the science of wishful thinking is as strong as ever. This book is our key to understanding why.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateOct 30, 2008
    ISBN9781423377207
    Sun in a Bottle: The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking
    Author

    Charles Seife

    Charles Seife is the author of Decoding the Universe, Alpha & Omega, and Zero, which won the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for first nonfiction book and was named a New York Times Notable Book. An associate professor of journalism at New York University, he has written for Science magazine, New Scientist, Scientific American, The Economist, Wired, The Sciences and many other publications. He lives in New York City.

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    Reviews for Sun in a Bottle

    4/5

    38 ratings4 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Huh …. Wow …. Had no idea there has been so much failure in attempting to get fusion to work. I studied nuclear engineering in college 15 years ago and recall the professors mention several times that fusion power may be a viable career option cause scientist might just get it figured out in our lifetime. This book - our rather the history of fusion over the past century - is fascinating, with all the advancements and utter failures scientists/ engineers/ etc. have seen attempting to achieve "break even". I keep seeing updates for the fusion reactor in China and wanted some background to be able to intelligently read those updates. Probably not a book for everyone to read, but if you're interested in science and engineering and need some background history on fusion, it is well written and researched. Maybe not a page turner but definitely not dull. You won't be disappointed. 

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      Not as good as ' Decoding ' but does give you some idea of what's going on ( primarily chapter 9 , which should have been longer )
    • 4/5
      Some interesting things presented in this book, and it is a very good piece of journalism. I do, however, find many parts of the book repetitive. The author goes in circles making the same point in many occasions: fusion power is a wishful science; many of the scientists have been kidding themselves, and therefore, in many ways, deserve their self-created downfalls... Chapter 9 bored me the most, so I merely skimmed it, because I found the science more interesting than the politics. The large amount of coverage on who did what, who said what when a particular research invited skepticism, and how lobbyists lied here and there to cheat federal money, those accounts cheapen the book for me in many ways. I understand that science is about experimenting and verifying hypotheses, and by nature is prone to errors, so even if someone's folly ideas, like tabletop fusion, cold fusion, and bubble fusion, are presented, as long as it's with scientific, though misinformed, basis, it's still interesting to read. The moment that the author abandons these and turns to timelining a person's demise, when juxtaposed by diagrams and scientific claims, makes me question whether science takes centerstage, or whether it's been hijacked by politics. Having said that, I do like the conclusion of the book very much.
    • 5/5
      The telling of the dream of fusion. Lies. Mistakes. Dead ends.The billions of dollars spent trying to put a small star in a bottle - breaking reputations and careers.Even a few pictures.