Physics and Nuclear Arms Today is a collection of the best articles written about the arms race which appeared in Physics Today between 1976 and 1989. The articles explore a wide variety of topical issues such as the effects of nuclear weapons, nuclear testing, offensive strategic weapons, defensive SDI or Star Wars weapons, nuclear nonproliferation and the social responsibility of scientists as well as a wide selection of articles which chronicle the history of nuclear weaponry. The authors also represent a broad spectrum of well known names in the physics community including Andrei Sakharov, Sidney Drell, Wolfgang Panofsky, Edward Teller, Frank von Hippel, Victor Weiskopf, and Freeman Dyson. Of interest to physicists interested in arms control issues, nuclear weapons, and international relations; science and defense policy makers.

Originally published in 1985, the level of anxiety and suspicion between the USA and the USSR had rarely been higher. Many advocates of arms control believed that effective verification would reduce tensions and lessen the risk of war. This book analyses the two main issues of verification. One is technological: what are the present capabilities of various verification techniques and what is their potential? The devices and methods currently employed by the two major nuclear powers and by international organizations to monitor the compliance of states with arms control or disarmament treaties are examined. The second issue is political: how do US and Soviet approaches compare, what are the roles of domestic and bureaucratic politics, and on what criteria can a workable standard of adequacy be based? In short, how much is enough? Although the study concludes that a number of significant arms control measures can already be adequately verified, modern weapons are becoming more mobile and it is becoming easier to conceal them. There is a danger that the ability to hide weapons will outstrip the ability to find them. Verification cannot promise to detect all violations; a workable standard of adequacy in verification must derive from the ability to detect militarily significant violations.

Modern scientific investigations of earthquakes began in the 1880s, and the International Association of Seismology was organized in 1901 to promote collaboration of scientists and engineers in studying earthquakes. The International Handbook of Earthquake and Engineering Seismology, under the auspices of the International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior (IASPEI), was prepared by leading experts under a distinguished international advisory board and team of editors.The content is organized into 56 chapters and includes over 430 figures, 24 of which are in color. This large-format, comprehensive reference summarizes well-established facts, reviews relevant theories, surveys useful methods and techniques, and documents and archives basic seismic data. It will be the authoritative reference for scientists and engineers and a quick and handy reference for seismologists.Also available is The International Handbook of Earthquake and Engineering Seismology, Part B.