Tag: nuclear

Staging Nuclear Dread in “Oppenheimer” and “Doctor Atomic”

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The late Daniel Ellsberg, in his book “The Doomsday Machine,” drew attention to a curious conversation that took place between Albert Speer and Adolf Hitler in the summer of 1942, on the subject of atomic apocalypse. Speer had asked Werner Heisenberg, the physicist in charge of the faltering German nuclear program, whether an atomic explosion could lead to an uncontrolled chain reaction. Heisenberg did not rule it out. Speer wrote in his memoir “Inside the Third Reich”:

Hitler was plainly

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Großbritannien verzögert den Start von „Great British Nuclear“ – POLITICO

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Die britische Regierung hat den offiziellen Start einer großen unabhängigen Einrichtung zur Unterstützung der Atomindustrie des Landes verzögert.

Energieminister Grant Shapps sollte am Donnerstag im Londoner Science Museum eine vielbeachtete Rede halten, in der er seine Pläne für Great British Nuclear und seine Rolle bei der Erreichung seiner Netto-Null-Ziele im Vereinigten Königreich darlegte.

Aber in einer E-Mail an die Teilnehmer, die POLITICO eingesehen hat, bestätigte das Ministerium für Energiesicherheit und Net Zero (DESNZ), dass die Veranstaltung „aufgrund unvorhergesehener Umstände“ verschoben

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European intel report warns Iran moves toward possible testing of nuclear bomb

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A fresh batch of damning European intelligence reports reveal that the Islamic Republic of Iran sought to bypass U.S. and EU sanctions to secure technology for its nuclear weapons program with a view toward testing an atomic bomb.

According to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which first published translations of the intelligence documents on its website, the security agencies of Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany revealed sensitive data during the first six months of 2023 on the Iranian 

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Measurements of a radioactive decay nudge a nuclear clock closer to reality

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Hickory dickory dock, this nucleus could make a great clock.

A special variety of the element thorium hosts an atomic nucleus that could be used to keep time, scientists say. In a first, researchers have measured a type of decay of this thorium nucleus that releases a single particle of light. The measurement of the energy released in the decay is seven times as precise as estimates based on different types of decays, researchers report in the May 25 Nature

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Why Brussels needs to overcome its nuclear aversion – EURACTIV.com

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Welcome to EURACTIV’s Green Brief, our weekly selection of energy and environment news from across Europe. To subscribe, follow this link. You can also subscribe to our daily newsletter here and to our comprehensive weekly update here.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen triggered a political storm in France when she declared last week that nuclear power was not a “strategic” technology to reach the EU’s climate goals.

“I am saying this calmly: that the European Commission

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Is the US Flirting With Nuclear War?

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EDITOR’S NOTE:&nbspThis article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from TomDispatch.com.

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How Nuclear Power Plants Became Tools of War

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EDITOR’S NOTE:&nbspThis article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from TomDispatch.com.

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What nuclear winter would really be like – as scientists call for ‘urgent’ public education

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From Threads to The Day After, ‘nuclear winter’ has been portrayed in science fiction blockbusters for years – but what would the cataclysmic aftermath of a nuclear attack really be like?

Smoke from the fires started by nuclear weapons would rise into the atmosphere, blocking out the sun.

The resulting perpetual darkness would mean freezing temperatures and crop failure, followed by mass starvation and death.

While it sounds very much like a fictional scenario, an expert describes a nuclear winter

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Would YOUR neighborhood be targeted in a nuclear conflict?

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These are the nuclear ‘hotspots’ across America that could be targeted in the event of a thermonuclear war, according to the government.

While heavily populated cities like New York and Los Angeles may seem like the most likely US targets, there are other, more strategic targets in states such as Montana or North Dakota to wipe out the US’s retaliatory forces.

The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) originally released the map of the areas most likely to be targeted

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Is America Ready for a New Age of Nuclear Power?

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“WE WERE A BIT CRAZY”

Kairos Power’s new test facility is on a parched site a few miles south of the Albuquerque, New Mexico, airport. Around it, desert stretches toward hazy mountains on the horizon. The building looks like a factory or a warehouse; nothing about it betrays the moonshot exercise happening within. There, digital readouts count down the minutes, T-minus style, until power begins flowing to a test unit simulating the blistering heat of a new kind of nuclear

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