BRIEF HISTORY Nuclear power is both simple and complex. Fissioning neutrons produce great heat. Heat placed in water makes steam. Steam accelerates a turbine which in turn powers a generator to make electricity. As a result, people can heat and cool their homes, operate their blow dryers, use their laptop, computer, light their rooms at night, and feel safe in their cities. Nuclear power has been harnessed to make devastating bombs that can level cities and states and countries. Nuclear power can only be managed with human assistance and creativity. And yet the limitation inherent in human ingenuity have led to tremendous accidents which have made many sick. At the same time, oil prices continue to rise while coal mines collapse and workers die, so some people argue that nuclear energy is cheap and safe compared to other forms of power. Still, others have pointed to the problem of storage and disposal of nuclear by- products, in particular toxic waste, substances that may remain deadly for billions of years. And then there are the so-called alternative energy sources specifically wind and solar, both heralded by environmentalists while industry attempts to find a way to blend them with commerce. So while the process of nuclear energy is relatively simple, the moral, social, political and economic aspects of this power make it very complex.