· CONSERVATION OF ENERGY—More efficient use of existing energy sources, development of alternate fuels and engines for automobiles to reduce dependence on petroleum, and elimination of wasteful habits of energy consumption. · FOSSIL ENERGY—Expansion of coal production and the development of technologies for converting coal to synthetic gas and liquid fuels, improvement of oil drilling methods and of techniques for converting shale deposits to usable oil. · SOLAR, GEOTHERMAL, AND ADVANCED ENERGY SYSTEMS—Research on solar energy to heat, cool, and eventually electrify buildings, on conversion of underground heat sources to gas and electricity, and on fusion reactors for the generation of electricity. · ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY—Investigation of health, safety, and environmental effects of the development of energy technologies, and research on management of wastes from energy production. · NUCLEAR ENERGY—Expanding medical, industrial and research applications and upgrading reactor technologies for the generation of electricity, particularly using the breeder concept. · NATIONAL SECURITY—Production and administration of nuclear materials serving both civilian and military needs. ERDA programs are carried out by contract and cooperation with industry, university communities, and other government agencies. For more information, write to USERDA—Technical Information Center, P. O. Box 62, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830. [Illustration: ENERGY RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION USA] United States Energy Research and Development Administration Office of Public Affairs Washington, D.C. 20545 Transcriber’s Notes --Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication. --In the text version only, underlined or italicized text is delimited by _underscores_. --Where possible, UTF superscript and subscript numbers are used; some e-reader fonts may not support these characters. --In the text versions only, other superscript text is preceded by caret and delimited by ^{brackets}. --In the text versions only, other subscripted text is preceded by underscore and delimited by _{brackets}. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Worlds Within Worlds: The Story of Nuclear Energy, Volume 2 (of 3), by Isaac Asimov