Big Picture Science - Nuclear Worries
The nuclear threat is back, and the Doomsday
Clock is almost at midnight. How did we end up here again? In the 1930s, German
physicists learned that splitting the nuclei of heavy atoms could release
tremendous amounts of energy. Such theoretical ideas became relevant when WW II
began.
Today, we try to eliminate nuclear weaponry
while exploiting the atom for peaceful uses, such as energy generation. But as
the invasion of Ukraine shows, power plants can also be military targets. We lay
out some of the questions that scientists and strategists are grappling with
considering recent events.
Guests:
- John Mecklin – Physicist, and Editor-in-Chief of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
- Robert Rosner – Physicist at the University of Chicago and a former chair of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientist’s Science and Security Board.
- Eric Schlosser – Journalist, author of “Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety.”
Download podcast at - http://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/nuclear-worries
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