ABCs of Nuclear Science - Aimed at schools, this site goes literally to the heart of the matter. Produced by the nuclear science division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, it covers all aspects of the science of the atomic nucleus at just the right level. There is no abstruse maths to put you off but you can find out all that you want to know. The home page is nice and simple, and features a wall chart about the subject that you can order to adorn the classroom or bedroom, if there is room amongst the pop and football stars. All the information on the science pages is clear and there are useful links from key words to a glossary. There are details of a project to build a cosmic ray detector, including sources for the parts required, how to go about building it, and how to use it. There are also details of many other interesting experiments to carry out, including the penetrating power of radiation and the deflection of beta rays by a magnetic field. Your school will need to have various pieces of apparatus, such as a Geiger counter, rail tracker, and radiation sources for these. There is guidance for the safe use of sources. The navigation is easy, and generally works well. This is just the sort of site to encourage budding nuclear physicists. Rating: 9 out of 10. (17 December 2002) MDH
http://www.lbl.gov/abc/index.html

Plutonium Investigation - Anyone concerned about plutonium proliferation in Europe, Japan, and the USA will benefit from the information on this site. Pages include acrobat maps of facilities by country, graphs on electricity generation by fuel source, an interesting sidebar on the phenomenal increase in windpower generation in Germany during the 1990's, back issues of their 10-issue per year newsletter, and current news articles kept updated. The site is published in both French and English by Wise-Paris and contains links to other publications of interest. (29 July 2001) DSG
http://www.pu-investigation.org/index.html

Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences - This is definitely a site more suited to older students and/or those involved in industry than the casual browser. The Institute is based in New Zealand and therefore the sections on e.g. offshore resources, geology and land stability refer to the local area. This makes the site useful if you are looking for information specific to New Zealand or even as the basis of a case study. The primary purpose of the site, however, seems to be to communicate details of the Institute's consultancy and laboratory services. These are extensive and very varied and the overview of what each lab test can be used for provides a good starting point to newcomers. There are copious links within the pages of the site and plenty of opportunity to contact the relevant people at the Institute. (2 January 2001) ST
http://www.gns.cri.nz/

NucNet: the World's Nuclear News Agency - NucNet is a subscription based service offering news about developments in global nuclear power. The site contains both positive and negative issues presenting a balanced picture of nuclear energy. The Business News category seems particularly valuable to company executives though a wide variety of news items and background articles will be of interest to insiders. Not a site for the casual surfer. (1 January 2001) LGC
http://www.worldnuclear.org/

Citizen Kurchatov - Citizen Kurchatov is the story of the physicist who became the driving force behind the Soviet Union's race to develop the atomic bomb. It is the story of Igor Kurchatov, born in 1903, who believed the Russian revolution would lead to the bright future of scientific socialism. Stalin's bomb-maker ultimately invested his time in the promotion of peaceful uses for nuclear energy and even shared Soviet information about nuclear fusion with the West. He died an 'old man' at the age of only fifty. (10 August 2000) DB
http://www.pbs.org/opb/citizenk/

Glossary of Plasma Physics - This site seeks to provide plain-language definitions of over 3600 frequently used technical terms in all areas of plasma physics and fusion energy research. It is aimed at anyone with an interest in the science, including journalists, students, and teachers. So.if you don't know your Abel inversion from your Eddy Current take a look. Fully searchable and browsable. There's also an opportunity to submit entries yourself. Presumably these are screened by an expert! (9 May 2000) DB
http://FusEdWeb.pppl.gov/Glossary/glossary.html

Fusion Energy Educational Web Site (FusEdWeb) - Fusion powers the Sun (and all other stars, of course) and harnessed will provide people with an effectively unlimited power source on Earth. The site discusses the possibilities of creating a star on our planet - figuratively, it is assumed. There is background that defines energy itself and describes trends in our usage of it, nuclear fusion and plasmas and a weighing up of coal against fusion fuel. Educationally useful, with a PDF slideshow, but sadly some of the site was last updated well over a year ago. (24 September 1998) DB
http://fusedweb.pppl.gov/

The Bureau of Atomic Tourism - Did you know that the US Air Force experimented with atomic-powered bombers and you can see their engines? Did you realise that there is an underground missile complex you can visit? Ever fancied scuba-diving around Bikini Atoll? This fascinating page points you to tourist information about nuclear matters and related web sites. (31 July 1997)
http://www.atomictourist.com/

Internet Plasma Physics Educational Experience - Everything you always wanted to know about how fusion power works, aimed at schools. There are several interactive experiments available which require that your web browser supports Java (to operate the virtual Tokamak reactor) or Shockwave (for many of the Interactive Physics Modules). If you just want to ask a scientist questions about fusion, though, all you need is an email address. (10 July 1997) DERB
http://ippex.pppl.gov/

Virtual Nuclear Tourist - Relentlessly upbeat, this site written by a nuclear consultant gives you some basic information on nuclear power plants, how they are run, what they look like inside and of course lots of links to various government and corporate nuclear power web sites around the world. Its author will also answer your nuclear questions. (7 October 1996) NS
http://virtual-nuclear-tourist.nukeworker.net/