Nuclear bombs do not rely on size, they rely on physics. Here is how chain reactions and hydrogen bombs unleash power on a ...

The Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb wasn't without its own dangers. Experiments on a so-called "demon core" of plutonium caused the deaths of two Manhattan Project physicists. Both ...

A grapefruit-sized sphere of plutonium holds enough energy to wipe a city off the map. But how does that actually work? From chain reactions to hydrogen bombs, we’re breaking down the terrifying ...

With undisguised pride, Los Alamos, N.M., the birthplace of the atomic bomb, announced on Oct. 2 the arrival of a new member to its nuclear family: a 7-pound sphere of plutonium designed to trigger a ...

Some atom-bomb secrets came out—or partly out—last week. During the Manhattan spy trial (see NATIONAL AFFAIRS), confessed spy David Greenglass, who worked as a machine-shop foreman at Los Alamos, ...

The Earth exploded into the nuclear age on 16 July 1945.On that day, the US tested a completely new type of weapon in the New Mexico desert. Crafted from a tennis-ball-sized plutonium sphere, the ...

How did Iran build a bomb, what are enriched uranium and plutonium, what role do centrifuges play, and how would the destruction of a reactor buried 90 meters underground be carried out? Israel and ...

Carolyn Krause concludes her series on plutonium and Oak Ridge with this installment that focuses on Louis Slotin. She also mentions the recent history of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s latest ...

The nuclear age is undergoing a paradigm shift. During much of the latter half of the past century, the nuclear enterprise was ascendant; now, it has entered a period of decline and uncertain ...