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posts about #nuclear more →
The True, Heartbreaking Faces of the Nuclear Era
Ford's Nucleon Concept: Twin Steam Turbines and a Nuclear Reactor in the Trunk
How a Soviet Doomsday Master Missile Looks and Works
Get Nervous: Rusty Soviet Doomsday System Still Turned On
More Analysis on the Korean Rocket Launch
Just Where Can North Korea's Missiles Hit?
Russia To Ring The Arctic With Floating Nuclear Power Stations
Israel Has Nukes, US Army Confirms
The One Place You Definitely Don't Want To See a Windows Error Message
Russia to Deploy Strategic Nuclear Bombers in Cuba, Venezuela

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Pope John Peeps II
11/10/09

In reply to The True, Heartbreaking Faces of the Nuclear Era
I try to smile.

I try to smile and be a bit optimistic because, no matter how monstrous some men and women can be, the human spirit always seems to find a way to survive.

This isn't meant as a specific criticism, more like an artistic critique: the end of that post was really not good. I mean... I think it takes away from the reporting, the gallery and the linking to this great book to end off with a sort of pedestrian "oh but I FEEL human spirit triumph adversotragedy tears kittens fuzzwarm ME." #nucleartest
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Jesus Diaz
11/10/09

@Pope John Peeps II: I wasn't tried to report. The Big Picture guy already did that. This was about what this makes me feel, that's all. It may be clichéd, but I'm not going to stop saying what I feel and think just because it sound clichéd. #nucleartest
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Pope John Peeps II
11/10/09

@Jesus Diaz: It just would have made this post way stronger to have left it with the clean idea of a great tragedy, instead of trying to sort of mollify it. After all the talk of the great Stalinesque killing machines and the atomic war plague, why am I supposed to feel that the human spirit is indomitably cheerful? I mean. When Troy burned, nobody ever said "well, at least we're warm". #nucleartest
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Jesus Diaz
11/10/09

@Pope John Peeps II: Hahaha. Didn't you read The Iliad? They spend a hundred verses talking about how warm they were. #nucleartest
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Pope John Peeps II
11/10/09

@Jesus Diaz: I'm not sure if that's a joke or not? They didn't burn Troy in the Iliad.

@macserv: THIS blog is all about writing for an audience. It's not specifically anything personal. So they're writing to please US. And if I find that something pretty cheeseball ruins a good post, then why wouldn't I say so? That's what these comments are for, right? #nucleartest
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scarbrtj
11/09/09

In reply to The True, Heartbreaking Faces of the Nuclear Era
I'm a radiation medicine physician. First off, those are some very sad images. But keep in mind, orphanages anywhere are generally going to have their fair share of unfortunate children with birth defects, retardation, etc., regardless of whether the orphanage is near previous nuclear test sites.

But, that said, the consequences of radiation exposure in utero are relatively well-studied. To over-simplify, exposure in the 0 to 4 week timeframe usually leads to outright death of the embryo, or the embryo survives unharmed (it's a pretty sensitive developmental time, and usually the radiation insult will be survivable, or 100% not survivable). In the 8 to 15 week timeframe, radiation exposure of a harmful enough level will usually lead to serious organ damage and a newborn which will have a very limited survival. In the 8 to 30 week timeframe, mental retardation/microcephaly and perhaps growth stunting are possible, but the most sensitive timeframe is 8 to 16 weeks for retardation. Past 30 weeks, the fetus has about the same risk profile as an adult: either you survive the radiation exposure, or you don't; but either way, no harmful structural abnormalities will result. Cancer risks (leukemia, thyroid e.g.) are increased substantially later in life (childhood, adulthood). Again, in general, substantially increased risks of remarkable, unsightly birth defects is rare; this is based on the Hiroshima/Nagasaki data, and the emerging Chernobyl data.

So, my opinion on the pictures is: the child with macrocephaly (large head) was not a radiation-associated case. The children with retardation and microcephaly could be radiation-associated. The young man that looks the most deformed probably has a case of large facial angiomatous malformations, and those are almost certainly not radiation-related. #nucleartest
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InsidiousTuna
11/09/09

In reply to The True, Heartbreaking Faces of the Nuclear Era
Well, I was looking forward to picking up my copy of Modern Warfare 2 and unleashing the tactical nuke in multiplayer, but this just makes me sad for the innumerable lives lost and affected by the advancement of nuclear technology. #nucleartest
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PN - gooapplesoft
11/09/09

In reply to The True, Heartbreaking Faces of the Nuclear Era
wow. truly a sad images that destroyed my bubbly day. Now i really want to go on a rant but ill let it go because I have a lot of work to get done.

Truly the least you can ask for is a safe testing of nuclear technology. There are SO MUCH space in russia its ridiculous... they couldn't have chosen a better place to do this? #nucleartest
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Sticks Calhoun
11/09/09

In reply to The True, Heartbreaking Faces of the Nuclear Era
There are many stunning photos on Ed Ou's site. And I can feel a future Gizmodo post on the "Inanimate Love" series (not work safe). #nucleartest
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nutbastard
10/02/09

In reply to Ford's Nucleon Concept: Twin Steam Turbines and a Nuclear Reactor in the Trunk
see? you wussy vegetarian hippies with your irrational fear of nuclear power have caused the global warming you claim to rally against.

fuck your prius, beatnik!
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Jrsy Devil's Advocate®
10/02/09

In reply to Ford's Nucleon Concept: Twin Steam Turbines and a Nuclear Reactor in the Trunk
And everyone worried about rear-ending a Pinto. Just imagine what would happen slamming into the back of this thing...
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mattycakes
10/02/09

In reply to Ford's Nucleon Concept: Twin Steam Turbines and a Nuclear Reactor in the Trunk
Sooo is anyone else puzzled as to how you would actually run a car based on nuclear power? I don't know how one could really get a car running with the torque and horsepower with what is really just a super badass (and slightly radioactive) steam engine.
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ripfire
10/02/09

@mattycakes: Electric motors my friend.
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gadam07
10/02/09

In reply to Ford's Nucleon Concept: Twin Steam Turbines and a Nuclear Reactor in the Trunk
Dude, I want that so bad! Actually, it kinda looks like something from Fallout 3. Only not all destroyed and stuff.
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Chewbenator
10/02/09

@gadam07: They based the cars in Fallout 3 off of this concept.
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Thorax707
10/02/09

In reply to Ford's Nucleon Concept: Twin Steam Turbines and a Nuclear Reactor in the Trunk
Atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed.
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Uncletwitch
10/02/09

@Thorax707: Don't forget your mask and cape
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Jrsy Devil's Advocate®
10/02/09

@Uncletwitch: And seatbelts. Always buckle up chum. It's the law.
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amund0
10/02/09

In reply to Ford's Nucleon Concept: Twin Steam Turbines and a Nuclear Reactor in the Trunk
who killed the nuclear car?
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KerryVixx
10/02/09

In reply to Ford's Nucleon Concept: Twin Steam Turbines and a Nuclear Reactor in the Trunk
This was a dead-serious proposal (at a time when the Air Force was actually building nuclear aircraft engine prototypes), and aside from the obvious problems, would have worked. The reactor was modular, and good for 5,000 miles; when it was dead you just swapped it out for a new one. There's a lot to like: zero emissions (old reactor cores recycled), gas up maybe twice a year, and 'ya just gotta love the tail fins. But man oh man, if you thought rear-ending a Pinto was bad... !
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VimalCachu
09/25/09

In reply to Get Nervous: Rusty Soviet Doomsday System Still Turned On
We cannot allow a mineshaft gap!!!
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InsertBullets
09/25/09

In reply to How a Soviet Doomsday Master Missile Looks and Works
What's the big deal, That red button was made in the heyday of USSR "quality". If he presses it all that will happen is a lightblub will turn off somewhere in siberia.
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bobdobbs
09/25/09

In reply to How a Soviet Doomsday Master Missile Looks and Works
Let's not ignore the fact that these things would be lucky to get three feet into the air before exploding.
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