Building bridges

I'm going to give you two words, and in the comments I want you to write the first thing that pops into your head. Ready?

Nuclear power.

I imagine a lot of you thought of the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki or the radiation leakage in Fukushima. For lot of people, that's more or less where our knowledge ends. However there is a group of people who know more about nuclear power and yet we rarely hear their knowledge. This group of people are atomic scientists. Specifically those that focus their research on nuclear energy.

These scientists know multitudes about the safety, reliability and more about nuclear power, yet we hardly hear from them. There is a gap between what they know and what we know. This gap is not exclusive to nuclear power but extends to all science.

"There is a gap between what science knows and what society does."- Rowan Brookes

Some of the planks on the bridge need to be put on by scientists as they learn to communicate with the public more effectively. But some of those planks can be put on by us. By learning more we can help piece the bridge together.

Here are a few things that you could do to help you start placing the planks on the bridge between science and public opinion. We'll start by focusing on nuclear power.
1. Learn more about nuclear power.
Jump on Google or YouTube, type in nuclear power, see what pops up.
A few friends and I have made a video about nuclear power to help get you started. We've tried to summarise all the key information for you.

Here are a few other useful videos.

2. Share your knowledge.
Now you know about nuclear power, but there are many that don't. They might have some misconceptions, try and clear it up for them.

References:
Image:
AJB's Photos 2010, A wooden bridge through the woods, online image, viewed 28 August 2015, https://ajbp.wordpress.com/tag/wooden-bridge/
Video:
SciShow 2013, The World's First Human-Made Nuclear Reactor, online video, viewed 15 August 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLJ1ebNcNLM
vlogbrothers 2011, Japan's Nuclear Disaster Explained, online video, viewed 15 August 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBvUtY0PfB8
Veritasium 2015, A Walk Around Chernobyl, online video, viewed 15 August 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DWnjcSo9J0
Veritasium 2014, The Most Radioactive Places on Earth, online video, viewed 15 August 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRL7o2kPqw0
Veritasium 2011, Radiation vs Radioactive Atoms, online video, viewed 15 August 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sehKAccM8p0