The Rise of Nuclear Alarmism Oct 28, 2009
In a 1999 essay, political activist Howard Morland mused about how history might have been different if Enrico Fermi had announced nuclear fission in 1934, when he first observed it without understanding it completely ... "I have often wondered how the world would have dealt with that news in 1934. Would World War II have started earlier, or been prevented? Would it have been a two-sided nuclear war? Could a limited war have been fought under the constraints of nuclear deterrence? Would the... (Slate)
Buzz Aldrin: A different kind of moon race Oct 13, 2009
I understand that Lunar Helium 3 could very well be the answer to Earth's problems with fossil fuels because it is the only known material that can, today, be used in nuclear fusion (fission. Sorry, I'm not a scientist and often get them mixed up). (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Energy crisis postponed, new gas rescues world... Oct 13, 2009
" I think it is kind of like shooting your foot because you stubbed your toe. Anyone else with me? Also, do you know what one of the biggest contributors to CO2s is? Trees! Look it up. Every autumn when leaves fall, CO2 spikes as the leaves biodegrade. Maybe the deforesters are doing us a favor? Oh wait. Better not let this out. When the global freezing group takes over after the global warming group falls by the way, they will probably use this fact to raise taxes again. Please, pretend I... (The Drudge Report)
Although flawed in technical details, ‘Fiery Peace in a Cold War’ reveals neglected part of US-Soviet arms race Oct 4, 2009
The militarily significant difference between an atomic and a hydrogen bomb is that the fission chain reaction stops when the atomic bomb s heavy metal core explosively disassembles, limiting the bomb s yield to less than a megaton, while the heat-dependent fusion reaction in a hydrogen bomb can be made arbitrarily large by adding more hydrogen fuel. The 1948 Sandstone atomic bomb tests not only led to fission bombs of increased yield, as Sheehan notes, but by levitating the bomb cores to... (Boston Globe)
Small Reactors To Power Outposts Beyond Earth? Oct 4, 2009
Three recent tests at different NASA centers and a national lab have successfully demonstrated key technologies required for compact fission-based nuclear power plants for human settlements on other worlds ... "The recent tests bear out that Fission surface power system could be an important source of energy for exploration on the moon and Mars," said Mike Houts, project manager for nuclear systems at Marshall ... The coolant loop provided heat to the Stirling engine at conditions very similar... (Science Daily)
Will the Manhattan Project Always Exist? by Sam Kean, 3 Quarks Daily Oct 1, 2009
No one even knew about nuclear fission until 1939. And were supposed to believe a few labcoats in the desert built a bomb from scratch. (Harper's Magazine)
Iran's key nuclear sites Sep 25, 2009
Heavy water is used to moderate the nuclear fission chain reaction either in a certain type of reactor - albeit not the type that Iran is currently building - or produce plutonium for use in a nuclear bomb. Bookmark with. (BBC News -- Africa)
Nuclear Weapons Science: How to Build a Bomb Sep 24, 2009
U-235 differs from U-238 in that it can undergo an induced fission chain reaction, a process that begins with using a subatomic particle known as a neutron to split the atom of a radioactive material like uranium into smaller pieces. The destructive power of a nuclear bomb is unleashed when an atom that has been split ends up sending its neutrons slamming into other atoms and splitting them, which in turn creates the chain reaction. (Fox News)
Controversy aside, Hanley is the MVP Sep 4, 2009
Neither Mr. Sammler's Planet nor the fission reactor nor the exploding scoreboard can, though, quite rate with Hyde Park's greatest contribution to world culture. Every year since 1946, University of Chicago scholars, including such eminences as Allan Bloom and Milton Friedman, have come together to debate the relative merits of delicious latkes (fried potato pancakes) and vile hamentashen (cookies with sweet filling, often made of prunes), presenting papers with titles like "The Archetypal... (SportsIllustrated.CNN)
Amir Aczel talks about his book on the German-Allied race to split the atom Sep 1, 2009
He writes, The Germans understood fission and could produce it in the lab; they understood chain reactions; they knew which isotope of uranium was the right one to use and had developed methods for isotope separation. They knew about using heavy water as a reaction moderator in a nuclear reactor, and they built a reactor. (Boston Globe)
The nuclear perils of the 21st century Jul 23, 2009
The foursome - perhaps the greatest meeting of brains in history - developed the idea of chain reaction of uranium fission. They enlisted Einstein to write his famous letter to FDR urging US development of an atomic bomb, a device that exploits the process of chain reaction, to counter such possible development by the Nazis. (Boston Globe)
Nuclear war is Kim Jong-il's game plan Jun 16, 2009
TOKYO - A little-noted fact about the second nuclear test conducted on May 25 by the Kim Jong-il administration of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is that it was a highly successful fission trigger test for multi-megaton warheads ... Writing in the New York Times on April 7, 2009, he revealed that "North Korea's low-yield nuclear test in October 2006 did "coincide with the sub-kiloton tests of the fission trigger for a hydrogen bomb". He added, "possibly North Korea's hydrogen... (Asia Times Online)
Seismologists monitor North Korea's nuclear blasts May 30, 2009
The airborne concentration of these isotopes, gases such as Xenon created in the nuclear fission reaction that triggered the blast, should help reveal how much plutonium was involved. Atmospheric radiation was the only way that nations learned of nuclear tests decades ago, such as the first Soviet nuclear test explosion in 1949. (USA Today -- Tech)
ISU gets $2.1M for research May 13, 2009
The graphite also helps continue the fission chain reaction. Fission is a nuclear reaction in which an atom's nucleus splits into smaller parts ... "If you don't keep the fission going, you don't have heat production," Dunzik-Gougar said. (Pocatello Idaho State Journal, ID)
Cold Fusion A Reality? Apr 20, 2009
They are using lazer inertia confinement fusion-fission Energy ... Cold fusion is thousands of times cheaper than any other source of energy, including fission, coal, wind and solar. (CBS News)
Waste not: promise of clean nuclear power Apr 10, 2009
Rather than creating a pure fusion reaction, they plan to combine their technology with a traditional nuclear fission reactor, which would require the laser to fire at a far lower frequency. "Using the laser to trigger nuclear fusion and drive a fission reaction means we can deliver the benefits of fusion to the utility companies far sooner," says Ed Moses, director of the NIF. "We will be getting energy from both the fission reaction and the fusion reaction, so for each kilo of fuel used in a... (The Age, Australia -- World)
Alzheimer's Disease Linked To Mitochondrial Damage Apr 5, 2009
Drp1 is an enzyme that mediates fission or fragmentation of mitochondria ... S-Nitrosylation of Drp1 Mediates %u03B2-Amyloid-Related Mitochondrial Fission and Neuronal Injury. (Science Daily)
Scientists take another stab at nuclear fusion Apr 1, 2009
Current nuclear power plants rely on nuclear fission, or the splitting of atoms, a chain reaction that produces large quantities of deadly radioactive waste. But if this costly experiment at Lawrence Livermore fails, it could kill U.S. fusion research for good. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Business)
France sticks to nuclear option Mar 24, 2009
Somewhere inside, the water is being heated to 300 degrees by the chain reaction of nuclear fission ... I find my thoughts drifting off though as the press officer tries to explain the exact workings of nuclear fission. (BBC News -- Europe)
Creating a mini Sun for clean energy Mar 17, 2009
Unlike nuclear fission reactions in which atoms are split apart the fusion process squeezes atoms together under enormous pressures and temperatures until they fuse, releasing huge quantities of energy. The next step would be to create a reactor capable of producing a steady stream of energy. (India Times, India -- Health/Science)
