Discover
/
Article

Special Issue: Radioactive Waste

JUN 01, 1997
John F. Ahearne

What can be done with radioactive waste? This extremely difficult question has not really been answered anywhere in the world; yet it must be answered. Like death and taxes, radioactive waste is with us—it cannot be wished away. This special, five‐article issue of PHYSICS TODAY reviews the technical problems and risks, outlines the reasons why the basic question posed above has not been answered and suggests some possible new approaches that could enable us to make progress.

This article is only available in PDF format

More about the authors

John F. Ahearne, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Related content
/
Article
A half century after the discovery of Hawking radiation, we are still dealing with the quantum puzzle it exposed.
/
Article
Since the discovery was first reported in 1999, researchers have uncovered many aspects of the chiral-induced spin selectivity effect, but its underlying mechanisms remain unclear.
/
Article
Metrologists are using fundamental physics to define units of measure. Now NIST has developed new quantum sensors to measure and realize the pascal.
/
Article
Nanoscale, topologically protected whirlpools of spins have the potential to move from applications in spintronics into quantum science.
This Content Appeared In
pt-cover_1997_06.jpeg

Volume 50, Number 6

Get PT newsletters in your inbox

pt_newsletter_card_blue.png
PT The Week in Physics

A collection of PT's content from the previous week delivered every Monday.

pt_newsletter_card_darkblue.png
PT New Issue Alert

Be notified about the new issue with links to highlights and the full TOC.

pt_newsletter_card_pink.png
PT Webinars & White Papers

The latest webinars, white papers and other informational resources.

By signing up you agree to allow AIP to send you email newsletters. You further agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.