Word: plutonium
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...less in the natural state. If uranium proves scarce, the supply can be eked out by "breeding." A reactor will be surrounded by a blanket of thorium or the plentiful but nonfissionable uranium isotope, U-238. When these absorb excess neutrons from the reaction, they turn into fissionable plutonium...
...science's most exciting-and most secret-projects is adapting atomic energy to aircraft. Since atomic fuel (plutonium or uranium 235) would have over two million times as much energy as gasoline, a "nuclear-powered" plane could fly on & on, round & round the earth. It could fly at its top speed all the time, and land with the same weight (and about the same amount of reserve fuel) that it took off with...
...they got potent allies when oleo manufacturers began making their product from the oils of cottonseed and soybeans-raised in the southern and midwestern states. By the time South Carolina's Congressman L. Mendel Rivers introduced his bill for tax repeal, margarine had become as politically explosive as plutonium...
...possible but unlikely theory: a killing cloud might be formed by dispersing radioactive byproducts of plutonium-making piles. The byproducts are deadly, all right, but if large quantities were loaded on an airplane without prohibitively massive shielding, the first casualties would probably be the crew...
...early "Model T" bombs were designed to give maximum shock effect. Up-to-date bombs, intended to make the most of the radioactive effect, may be angled differently. Their explosive plutonium hearts may be surrounded by material chosen for its ability to absorb radiation and neutrons. When the bomb goes off they would turn into extra-deadly isotopes. Such a bomb would be a double threat. It could devastate a comparatively small area by shock and heat. Then the isotope fog could drift slowly downwind, killing by radiation...