This is the proceedings of the symposium on Frontiers of Nuclear Structure Physics which was held from March 2-5, 1994, in honor of Akito Arima. Nuclear structure physics is approaching a new era owing to various recent developments such as radioactive nuclear beams, multiple gamma-ray detectors, massive parallel computers, etc. In the near future RHIC, CEBAF and other facilities will further extend the horizons of the field and this meeting offered a look at these exciting possibilities ahead. Topics discussed included (i) new trends in shell model, (ii) electroweak interactions in nuclei, (iii) unstable nuclei, (iv) Interacting Boson Model, (v) proton-neutron degrees of freedom in nuclear collectivity, (vi) quarks in hadrons and nuclei, (vii) nuclear astrophysics, (viii) nuclear and atomic clusters.

The conference was about basic nuclear science (nuclear physics), with emphasis on theoretical models used in nuclear structure physics. Some interdisciplinary links to astrophysics, medical physics and the use of nuclear energy were also discussed. The purpose of this symposium was to celebrate the 80th birthday of Prof. Akito Arima, who is one of the most famous nuclear physicists in the world, and his award of the Order of Culture.

Nuclear Physics in the 1990's

Written by an expert in the field, this book is perfect for those who would like to know what happened at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Part 1 of the book studies how core melts occurred in Fukushima Daiichi units 1, 2, and 3, respectively, based on evidence from the Three-Mile Island core melt accident and fuel behavior experiments performed in the 1970s under the cooperation between the United States, Germany, and Japan. This information explains the accident processes without contradicting data from Fukushima, which was published in the TEPCO report. The hydrogen explosions in units 1, 3, and 4 are also explained logically in conjunction with the above core melt process. Part 2 clarifies how the background radiation level of the site doubled: The first rise was just a leak from small openings in units 1 and 3 associated with fire-pump connection work. The second rise led to direct radioactive material release from unit 2. Evacuation dose adequacy and its timing are discussed with reference to the accident process, and the necessity for embankments surrounding nuclear power plants to increase protection against natural disasters is also discussed. New proposals for safety design and emergency preparedness are suggested based on lessons learned from the accident as well as from new experiences. Finally, a concept for decommissioning the Fukushima site and a recovery plan are introduced.

A quantum origin of life? -- Quantum mechanics and emergence -- Quantum coherence and the search for the first replicator -- Ultrafast quantum dynamics in photosynthesis -- Modelling quantum decoherence in biomolecules -- Molecular evolution -- Memory depends on the cytoskeleton, but is it quantum? -- Quantum metabolism and allometric scaling relations in biology -- Spectroscopy of the genetic code -- Towards understanding the origin of genetic languages -- Can arbitrary quantum systems undergo self-replication? -- A semi-quantum version of the game of life -- Evolutionary stability in quantum games -- Quantum transmemetic intelligence -- Dreams versus reality : plenary debate session on quantum computing -- Plenary debate: quantum effects in biology : trivial or not? -- Nontrivial quantum effects in biology : a skeptical physicists' view -- That's life! : the geometry of p electron clouds.