Chapter 10: The War of Physics and Other Good Things Summary and Analysis

America's worst nuclear accident occurred in March 1979 on Three Mile Island just outside Harrisburg, PA. If it had not been contained, exposure of the nuclear core could have rendered the entire state of Pennsylvania uninhabitable. Fortunately, no one was hurt or made sick and there was no long-term impact. But this close call stayed in the mind of the nation for what could have been. This incident along with the movie, The China Syndrome, released just 12 days before the Three Mile Island incident and the exorbitant cost of building nuclear plants and the inherent legal liabilities brought a halt to further constructions of the plants. Therefore, since America has ceased to include nuclear power to its energy mix and energy consumption has drastically increased, we...