Josephson's research has turned up an astounding variety of dead
ends. There was, for instance, food irradiation. Starting as
early as the 1950's, the Soviets had tried irradiating fruits,
fish, meat and potatoes as a means of preservation. They also
tried irradiating hens, seeds and barnyard breeding stock to
increase productivity. ''The image of the mighty atom joining us
at the dinner table was no more a reasonable hope than that of
other images promoted during the glory days of atomic energy:
the atom and nuclear engines, the atom as excavator and the atom
and unlimited electric energy.'' None of it worked well; much of
it did not work at all. There was the attempt to use small
nuclear bombs for peaceful purposes, to aid in oil and gas
drilling, to put out fires in oil and gas wells, to create
underground storage space for hazardous wastes and to dig
canals, harbors and reservoirs (''correcting the mistakes of
nature,'' the Soviets said). And there was Russian imperialism
within the Soviet Union, as Mosco