Sometime in 1988, at a test range called Kapustin Yar deep inside the Soviet Union, a team of engineers took the most powerful weapon their country had ever built, packed it with the better part of a ton of high explosive, and blew it to pieces. And then they did …
What Is a Neutron Bomb?
Although I’ve covered quite a few nuclear technologies over past few years there is one which I haven’t touched upon but he’s regarded as one of the most insidious forms of nuclear weapon, One which was parodied by the mad magazine with the slogan “save buildings, not lives” and on …
How Does a Nuclear Missile Find its Target?
Have you ever wondered how a nuclear missile can find its way half way across the world and to be within less than 100 meters of it’s target and not use GPS?. In fact, as the accuracy of intercontinental ballistic missiles or ICBM’s, increased, the size of the warheads decreased, …
Are Molten Salt Reactors the Future of Nuclear Power?
Although we have dramatically increased the amount of power generated by wind and solar over the last few decades, there is one inescapable reality which still exists, the sun goes down every night and remains off limits for approximately 12 hours every day and cloud cover can reduce solar output …
How Could Nuclear Batteries Last a Lifetime?
We tend to forget about the humble battery, the power source that is in every electronic device that is not wired to the mains. It’s the power and the Achilles heel of electric vehicles, it’s the thing that runs out after a day of using your Apple watch and yet …
How to make Roads with Nukes – Nuclear explosions For Peace
Peaceful nuclear explosions, that sounds like a contradiction in terms, especially in these times of heightened tension and nuclear sabre-rattling. But there was time when back in the 50s, 60s and even up to the late 80s when the explosive power of a nuclear weapon was looked at in a …