nukes

A simple idea that could prevent future nuclear disasters like Fukushima

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011 was caused in part by flooding that killed the power generators needed to maintain the plant’s monitoring and cooling system. So, how could you prevent something like this in the future? How about by making systems that are self-powering, relying on the energy produced by the plant itself?…

io9 Tim Barribeau Oct 26

Butterflies in the Fukushima region plagued by “genetic damage” and “severe abnormalities”

A study of the pale grass blue butterfly in the regions around the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, site of the 2011 radiation disaster, has revealed that the insects are giving birth to mutants at an alarming rate. Indeed, the butterflies collected from younger generations have more abnormalities than butterflies born directly after the power plant…

io9 Annalee Newitz Aug 15

These Five Men Volunteered to Let a Nuke Explode Over Them

Sixty five years ago today, the Department of Defense launched a nuclear missile test in Nevada, as they would hundreds of times again. But this time, five guys and a cameraman were placed right underneath the massive atomic explosion. Why? The DoD, NPR explains, wanted to show that nuclear warfare was safe, and that an…

Tech News Sam Biddle Jul 19

These vintage postcards would nowadays pass for threats by mail

The postcard today is primarily an atavistic vacation novelty, but prior generations used these paper rectangles to convey a whole host of emotions. That said, it’s not always clear what emotions the following postcards were meant to impart, but good gravy, are they sinister, weird, or weirdly sinister. I’m pretty sure all of them were…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Jun 26

Sat Photos May Show Iran Hiding Nuke Gear

To the naked eye, the photo above doesn’t seem to show anything more than a couple of bland houses against a deary landscape. But a prominent nuclear-weapons researcher thinks it might display the concealment of Iran’s nuclear program. All this over a few water stains.[top] The site on display is Parchin, a military base in…

Tech News Spencer Ackerman - Wired May 10

An interview with a woman who survived the 1958 atomic bombing of South Carolina

On the afternoon of March 11, 1958, Ella Hudson was nine years old and visiting her cousins’ home in Mars Bluff, South Carolina. After an otherwise normal school day wrapped up, Ella had the bizarre pleasure of witnessing firsthand the United States Air Force accidentally drop a nuclear weapon — with its fissile material fortunately…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar May 8

In 1958, America accidentally dropped a nuclear weapon on two little girls’ playhouse

For certain rural residents of the Carolinas during the Cold War, apocalyptic anxiety hit disturbingly close to home. In 1958 and 1961, the American Air Force lost nuclear weapons over the skies of South and North Carolina, respectively, raining potential apocalypse on the folks below. In both incidents, complete catastrophe was avoided thanks to that…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Apr 24

North Korea Might Blow Up a Nuke Very Soon

North Korea, not wanting to look like a bunch of inept jerkoffs who can’t enter a space race that’s already over, is desperate. The putzy new Glorious Leader looks weak. The solution? Blow up a nuclear bomb to scare the world. https://gizmodo.com/north-korea-defies-the-world-and-launches-menacing-rock-5901325 Reuters is reporting, based on an informed “source,” with “close ties to Pyongyang…

Tech News Sam Biddle Apr 24

This insanely sinister infographic illustrates the power of the world’s strongest nuke

On October 30, 1961, the Soviet Union conducted an atmospheric test of the 50-megaton Tsar Bomba (Russian for “Bomb King”) nuclear weapon over the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The ensuing detonation threw up a mushroom cloud 64 kilometers high and would’ve subjected anyone 100 kilometers away to third degree burns. Even though…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Apr 20

Could a microwave save your electronics during an EMP attack?

You sleep with your iPhone beside you, waking up in the middle of the night to check your e-mail? Feel anxious when separated from your smartphone? https://gizmodo.com/do-you-feel-more-lonely-after-using-your-smart-phone-5898841 An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is a wave of energy that follows nuclear detonations and threatens to fry your personal electronics. Could something already in your abode save your…

io9 Keith Veronese Apr 19

Robot Sub Surveys Radioactive Ponds So You Don’t Have To

Superfund cleanup sites are not places you really want to hang around. So how does one survey a radioactive fuel storage pond without taking a dip? Send in a radiation-resistant ROV, of course. The First Generation Magnox Storage and De-canning Facility (MSDF) is one such radioactive location. It was constructed in the 1950s at Sellafield…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Apr 18

Wild Vegas parties celebrated atomic bomb tests of the 1950s

Crooners, bright lights, the ringing of slot machines, and…atomic bombs? This strange combination became a reality in Las Vegas during the 1950s. Scheduled nuclear detonations at the Nevada Proving Ground gave plenty of opportunities to party and raise a glass to a mushroom cloud. How did this bizarre slice of history come together in the…

io9 Keith Veronese Apr 18

North Korea Defies the World and Launches Menacing Rocket (Updated: It Failed)

We knew it was coming, and here it is: Pyongyang just pulled the trigger and sent its Unha-3 rocket toward space, to the dismay of everyone who fears a North Korea who can strike the world. https://gizmodo.com/north-koreas-big-bad-missile-launch-begins-updated-5901135 Update: Both the US and Japanese governments say the launch failed, with the Unha-3 rocket falling apart shortly…

Space & Spaceflight Sam Biddle Apr 12

North Korea’s Big Bad Missile Launch Begins (Updated)

North Korea is being extra naughty this week: the piss-broke dictatorship is about to launch a giant rocket for scientific purposes. Translation: a giant F U to the rest of the world, and a nuclear threat. Update: South Korean news reports the rocket has been launched. The country announced last month that it’d break its…

Space & Spaceflight Sam Biddle Apr 11

How Many Nukes Would It Take to Blow Up the Entire Planet?

Dropping one nuclear bomb is terrible enough—cities leveled, populations vaporized. Horrible enough on its own—but what if you dropped 183.000? Goodbye, USA. So what about obliterating the moon? We’ve got it. These wonderfully graphic calculations are courtesy of graphic designer Maximilian Bode, who tallied how many warheads of varying sizes it’d take to annihilate everything…

Tech News Sam Biddle Apr 5

US Nuke Stockpile Control Systems Are “Under Constant Attack”

You may never have heard of the National Nuclear Security Administration but that doesn’t mean foreign agents haven’t. The agency tasked with protecting America’s nukes and nuclear secrets has disclosed that its computer systems are attacked as many as 10 MILLION times a day. According to the department’s head, Thomas D’Agostino, the NNSA’s security systems…

Privacy & Security Andrew Tarantola Mar 20

Here’s What Happens When Our Nation’s Capital Is Nuked

Late last year, the government conducted a study to discern what happens if DC is hit with a 10-kiloton nuke. Would it be good, or would it be bad? The results are in, and surprise! It would be very, very bad. The study—”National Capital Region: Key Response Planning Factors for the Aftermath of Nuclear Terrorism”—simulates…

Tech News Sam Biddle Mar 14

Hilariously bleak visions of the future, as predicted by schoolchildren in 1976

To commemorate the American Bicentennial in 1976, the oil company ARCO asked schoolchildren across the nation to illustrate what they thought the United States would look like in the year 2076. ARCO received hundreds of letters and drawings from students. And in a potentially unforeseen twist, some of these Tricentennial visions predicted a future ripped…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Feb 28

Nukemap allows you to drop famous bombs all over Google Maps

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you blew up the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated smack dab in your living room? Thanks to science historian Alex Wellerstein and his handy Nukemap, you can ponder no longer. This grimly fascinating website allows you to drop everything from Fat Man to Minutemen I warheads…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Feb 23

The Air Force’s Crazy Plan to Launch Nuclear ICBMs from a Cargo Plane

When you think ICBM, things get Freudian—a long, slender missile erupting from an underground silo or submarine bay, gliding upwards. You probably don’t consider a giant missile dumped from the back of a plane. The Air Force did. The outlandish plan actually worked, DefenseTech explains—at least for one daring test. The idea was about as…

Tech News Sam Biddle Feb 17

A simple idea that could prevent future nuclear disasters like Fukushima

Butterflies in the Fukushima region plagued by “genetic damage” and “severe abnormalities”

These Five Men Volunteered to Let a Nuke Explode Over Them

These vintage postcards would nowadays pass for threats by mail

Sat Photos May Show Iran Hiding Nuke Gear

An interview with a woman who survived the 1958 atomic bombing of South Carolina

In 1958, America accidentally dropped a nuclear weapon on two little girls’ playhouse

North Korea Might Blow Up a Nuke Very Soon

This insanely sinister infographic illustrates the power of the world’s strongest nuke

Could a microwave save your electronics during an EMP attack?

Robot Sub Surveys Radioactive Ponds So You Don’t Have To

Wild Vegas parties celebrated atomic bomb tests of the 1950s

North Korea Defies the World and Launches Menacing Rocket (Updated: It Failed)

North Korea’s Big Bad Missile Launch Begins (Updated)

How Many Nukes Would It Take to Blow Up the Entire Planet?

US Nuke Stockpile Control Systems Are “Under Constant Attack”

Here’s What Happens When Our Nation’s Capital Is Nuked

Hilariously bleak visions of the future, as predicted by schoolchildren in 1976

Nukemap allows you to drop famous bombs all over Google Maps

The Air Force’s Crazy Plan to Launch Nuclear ICBMs from a Cargo Plane

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