Professor Bernard Cohen is Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Pittsburgh. A professor is a senior teacher and researcher, usually in a college or university. ... Since antiquity, people have tried to understand the behavior of matter: why unsupported objects drop to the ground, why different materials have different properties, and so forth. ... The University of Pittsburgh is a state-related, doctoral/research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ...

When Ralph Nader described Plutonium as "the most toxic substance known to mankind", Cohen, then a tenured professor, offered to consume on camera as much Plutonium oxide as Nader could consume of caffeine, the stimulant found in coffee and other beverages, which in its pure form has an estimated LD₅₀ of 13-19 grams for an adult human. Professor Cohen maintained that the radioactive substance would pass through his intestinal tract unabsorbed. Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (born February 27, 1934) is an American activist lawyer who opposes the power of large corporations and has worked for decades on environmental, consumer rights, and pro-democracy issues. ... General Name, Symbol, Number plutonium, Pu, 94 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block ?, 7, f Appearance silvery white Atomic mass (244) g/mol Electron configuration [Rn] 5f6 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 24, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ... Caffeine molecular structure Anhydrous USP grade Caffeine Caffeine, also known as trimethylxanthine, coffeine, theine, mateine, guaranine, methyltheobromine and 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine, is a xanthine alkaloid found naturally in such foods as coffee beans, tea, kola nuts, Yerba mate, guarana berries, and (in small amounts) cacao beans. ... In toxicology, the LD50 or colloquially semilethal dose of a particular substance is a measure of how much constitutes a lethal dose. ...

Professor Cohen has written one book, The Nuclear Energy Option (1990). Although published as a hardcover, the full text is also available online.

External links

• Bernard Cohen home page. Contains full text of The Nuclear Energy Option.
• The Myth of Plutonium Toxicity famous paper in which Cohen discusses his challenge to Nader.
• Review on Amazon.com of The Nuclear Energy Option.