Worlds Within Worlds: The Story of Nuclear Energy Volume 3 Nuclear Fission · Nuclear Fusion · Beyond Fusion by Isaac Asimov United States Atomic Energy Commission Office of Information Services Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 75-189477 1972 _Nothing in the history of mankind has opened our eyes to the possibilities of science as has the development of atomic power. In the last 200 years, people have seen the coming of the steam engine, the steamboat, the railroad locomotive, the automobile, the airplane, radio, motion pictures, television, the machine age in general. Yet none of it seemed quite so fantastic, quite so unbelievable, as what man has done since 1939 with the atom ... there seem to be almost no limits to what may lie ahead: inexhaustible energy, new worlds, ever-widening knowledge of the physical universe._ Isaac Asimov [Illustration: Photograph of night sky] Nuclear energy is playing a vital role in the life of every man, woman, and child in the United States today. In the years ahead it will affect increasingly all the peoples of the earth. It is essential that all Americans gain an understanding of this vital force if they are to discharge thoughtfully their responsibilities as citizens and if they are to realize fully the myriad benefits that nuclear energy offers them. The United States Atomic Energy Commission provides this booklet to help you achieve such understanding. UNITED STATES ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION Dr. James R. Schlesinger, Chairman James T. Ramey Dr. Clarence E. Larson William O. Doub Dr. Dixy Lee Ray [Illustration: Isaac Asimov] ISAAC ASIMOV received his academic degrees from Columbia University and is Associate Professor of Biochemistry at the Boston University School of Medicine. He is a prolific author who has written over 100 books in the past 18 years, including about 20 science fiction works, and books for children. His many excellent science books for the public cover subjects in mathematics, physics, astronomy, chemistry, and biology, such as _The Genetic Code_, _Inside the Atom_, _Building Blocks of the Universe_, _Understanding Physics_, _The New Intelligent Man’s Guide to Science_, and _Asimov’s Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology_. In 1965 Dr. Asimov received the James T. Grady Award of the American Chemical Society for his major contribution in reporting science progress to the public. [Illustration: Photograph of night sky] CONTENTS