ParadoxTrick
@paradoxtrick.bsky.social
V Bombers, the deterrent, the Cold War & the science behind it all
Berkshire to Bermondsey
Berkshire to Bermondsey
Reposted by ParadoxTrick
The British Army once considered using to chickens to keep some of its nuclear weapons warm enough to use in winter.
Ok folks: what is your favorite fact that you share with people (maybe a bit too) eagerly?
January 9, 2026 at 12:51 PM
The British Army once considered using to chickens to keep some of its nuclear weapons warm enough to use in winter.
Reposted by ParadoxTrick
In 1980, Tyne Tees' magazine show for teens, CHECK IT OUT, gave kids in the North-East of England the lowdown on nuclear war. And it's a delight from start to finish.
Future 'The Tube/Top of the Pops' producer Chris Cowey there, with the perm and mussie.
Future 'The Tube/Top of the Pops' producer Chris Cowey there, with the perm and mussie.
January 9, 2026 at 3:07 PM
In 1980, Tyne Tees' magazine show for teens, CHECK IT OUT, gave kids in the North-East of England the lowdown on nuclear war. And it's a delight from start to finish.
Future 'The Tube/Top of the Pops' producer Chris Cowey there, with the perm and mussie.
Future 'The Tube/Top of the Pops' producer Chris Cowey there, with the perm and mussie.
January 9, 2026 at 1:38 PM
January 6, 2026 at 10:28 PM
Reposted by ParadoxTrick
I stumbled across this first-hand account of a nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site from 1957 and couldn’t stop reading it. So I put it up on DOOMSDAY MACHINES. Something to ring in the New Year with, perhaps… doomsdaymachines.net/p/zero-time-...
"Zero time was speeding toward me like a car you cannot dodge"
A gripping first-hand account of a nuclear test from 1957
doomsdaymachines.net
January 1, 2026 at 4:54 PM
I stumbled across this first-hand account of a nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site from 1957 and couldn’t stop reading it. So I put it up on DOOMSDAY MACHINES. Something to ring in the New Year with, perhaps… doomsdaymachines.net/p/zero-time-...
January 5, 2026 at 3:29 PM
Reposted by ParadoxTrick
This is a nice addition to the "bad Cold War ideas" file — nukes that would detonate themselves at full yield "in the event the carrier and/or crew fell prey to the enemy defense." Never adopted as far as I know... from a Sandia study of nuclear safety issues, 1959.
December 30, 2025 at 12:58 PM
This is a nice addition to the "bad Cold War ideas" file — nukes that would detonate themselves at full yield "in the event the carrier and/or crew fell prey to the enemy defense." Never adopted as far as I know... from a Sandia study of nuclear safety issues, 1959.
Reposted by ParadoxTrick
OTD in 1958 at 4:35 PM MST at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, experienced chemist Cecil Kelley, 38, stood on a step ladder peering through a viewport into a 1,000-liter stainless steel tank holding what he believed to be dilute aqueous and organic plutonium solutions as he switched on the stirrer.
December 30, 2025 at 1:52 PM
OTD in 1958 at 4:35 PM MST at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, experienced chemist Cecil Kelley, 38, stood on a step ladder peering through a viewport into a 1,000-liter stainless steel tank holding what he believed to be dilute aqueous and organic plutonium solutions as he switched on the stirrer.
🐧🧊 Incredible underwater footage of penguin life, shot from the first person of one of them.
🇺🇦 This beauty was captured thanks to Ukrainian scientists from the Vernadsky Station in Antarctica, who put a GPS tracker and a tiny camera on the bird.
🇺🇦 This beauty was captured thanks to Ukrainian scientists from the Vernadsky Station in Antarctica, who put a GPS tracker and a tiny camera on the bird.
December 30, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Reposted by ParadoxTrick
Hans Bethe, the scientist who worked in both the Manhattan Project & USA H-bomb programs, wrote in 1983 a 40 page history called "The Story of Los Alamos."
It seems not to be publicly available online except where I have made it so, free for all: osf.io/thjpk
#NukeSKY
1/n
It seems not to be publicly available online except where I have made it so, free for all: osf.io/thjpk
#NukeSKY
1/n
December 28, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Hans Bethe, the scientist who worked in both the Manhattan Project & USA H-bomb programs, wrote in 1983 a 40 page history called "The Story of Los Alamos."
It seems not to be publicly available online except where I have made it so, free for all: osf.io/thjpk
#NukeSKY
1/n
It seems not to be publicly available online except where I have made it so, free for all: osf.io/thjpk
#NukeSKY
1/n
Reposted by ParadoxTrick
A friend wants to know more about Teller's concern during the Manhattan Project that the atomic bomb could set off a catastrophic reaction in the atmosphere. So I did a bit of searching.
Wikipedia has a bit about it, but I wanted to know the exact reaction Teller was worried about. 1/
Wikipedia has a bit about it, but I wanted to know the exact reaction Teller was worried about. 1/
December 29, 2025 at 12:18 AM
A friend wants to know more about Teller's concern during the Manhattan Project that the atomic bomb could set off a catastrophic reaction in the atmosphere. So I did a bit of searching.
Wikipedia has a bit about it, but I wanted to know the exact reaction Teller was worried about. 1/
Wikipedia has a bit about it, but I wanted to know the exact reaction Teller was worried about. 1/
December 22, 2025 at 3:33 PM
December 19, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Reposted by ParadoxTrick
55 years ago this morning, BANEBERRY—a 10-kiloton, weapons-related, underground nuclear test 912 feet beneath the Nevada Test Site—accidentally vented, releasing 6.7 million curies of radioactive debris, including 80,000 curies of iodine-131, the second largest venting in US history. (THREAD)
December 18, 2025 at 1:31 PM
55 years ago this morning, BANEBERRY—a 10-kiloton, weapons-related, underground nuclear test 912 feet beneath the Nevada Test Site—accidentally vented, releasing 6.7 million curies of radioactive debris, including 80,000 curies of iodine-131, the second largest venting in US history. (THREAD)
Reposted by ParadoxTrick
I'm excited about this — expect lots of interesting things in the new year! thebulletin.org/2025/12/alex...
Alex Wellerstein joins the Bulletin
The Bulletin is proud to welcome Alex Wellerstein as a new Senior Fellow. In this role, he will work with the Bulletin’s editorial team on historical
thebulletin.org
December 18, 2025 at 3:02 PM
I'm excited about this — expect lots of interesting things in the new year! thebulletin.org/2025/12/alex...
December 18, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Reposted by ParadoxTrick
TODAY: Tuesday, December 16, at 12-2pm ET / 18-20h CET!
TOMORROW, Tuesday, December 16, at 12-2pm ET / 18-20h CET I will be part of a book launch event for THE MOST AWFUL RESPONSIBILITY.
YOU can attend: in person if you happen to be in Paris (lucky you), or on Zoom. Click "INSCRIPTION" (top right) here to register. www.sciencespo.fr/ceri/fr/even...
YOU can attend: in person if you happen to be in Paris (lucky you), or on Zoom. Click "INSCRIPTION" (top right) here to register. www.sciencespo.fr/ceri/fr/even...
The Most Awful Responsibility: Truman's struggle for control of the atomic age
Alex Wellerstein’s new book argues that, contrary to current understandings, Truman was perhaps the most anti-nuclear president of the 20th century. In a key period, he did more than any leader since ...
www.sciencespo.fr
December 16, 2025 at 1:01 PM
TODAY: Tuesday, December 16, at 12-2pm ET / 18-20h CET!
December 16, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Reposted by ParadoxTrick
TOMORROW, Tuesday, December 16, at 12-2pm ET / 18-20h CET I will be part of a book launch event for THE MOST AWFUL RESPONSIBILITY.
YOU can attend: in person if you happen to be in Paris (lucky you), or on Zoom. Click "INSCRIPTION" (top right) here to register. www.sciencespo.fr/ceri/fr/even...
YOU can attend: in person if you happen to be in Paris (lucky you), or on Zoom. Click "INSCRIPTION" (top right) here to register. www.sciencespo.fr/ceri/fr/even...
The Most Awful Responsibility: Truman's struggle for control of the atomic age
Alex Wellerstein’s new book argues that, contrary to current understandings, Truman was perhaps the most anti-nuclear president of the 20th century. In a key period, he did more than any leader since ...
www.sciencespo.fr
December 15, 2025 at 9:36 PM
TOMORROW, Tuesday, December 16, at 12-2pm ET / 18-20h CET I will be part of a book launch event for THE MOST AWFUL RESPONSIBILITY.
YOU can attend: in person if you happen to be in Paris (lucky you), or on Zoom. Click "INSCRIPTION" (top right) here to register. www.sciencespo.fr/ceri/fr/even...
YOU can attend: in person if you happen to be in Paris (lucky you), or on Zoom. Click "INSCRIPTION" (top right) here to register. www.sciencespo.fr/ceri/fr/even...
Reposted by ParadoxTrick
Huh!
TIL Pu-238 was first plutonium isotope discovered!
Seaborg bombarded U-238 w/energetic (15MeV) deuterons making Np-238 that beta decayed to Pu238.
hydrogen isotopes (all 1 proton)
protium 0 neutrons
deuterium 1 neutron
tritium 2 neutrons (radioactive)
deuteron= deuterium nucleus
TIL Pu-238 was first plutonium isotope discovered!
Seaborg bombarded U-238 w/energetic (15MeV) deuterons making Np-238 that beta decayed to Pu238.
hydrogen isotopes (all 1 proton)
protium 0 neutrons
deuterium 1 neutron
tritium 2 neutrons (radioactive)
deuteron= deuterium nucleus
5. The Discovery and Isolation of Plutonium
The transuranium element, plutonium, was the first synthetic element to be produced on a large scale. In addition to being fissionable, it has interesting and unusual chemical and metallurgical …
chem.libretexts.org
December 14, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Huh!
TIL Pu-238 was first plutonium isotope discovered!
Seaborg bombarded U-238 w/energetic (15MeV) deuterons making Np-238 that beta decayed to Pu238.
hydrogen isotopes (all 1 proton)
protium 0 neutrons
deuterium 1 neutron
tritium 2 neutrons (radioactive)
deuteron= deuterium nucleus
TIL Pu-238 was first plutonium isotope discovered!
Seaborg bombarded U-238 w/energetic (15MeV) deuterons making Np-238 that beta decayed to Pu238.
hydrogen isotopes (all 1 proton)
protium 0 neutrons
deuterium 1 neutron
tritium 2 neutrons (radioactive)
deuteron= deuterium nucleus
Reposted by ParadoxTrick
It's Monday. You might hate your job. But at least you're not a russian general about to tell Putin that you lost the city you've claimed to have captured 4 times.
December 15, 2025 at 9:02 AM
It's Monday. You might hate your job. But at least you're not a russian general about to tell Putin that you lost the city you've claimed to have captured 4 times.
Reposted by ParadoxTrick
Eighty-five years ago today, chemists Glenn Seaborg, Joseph Kennedy, and Arthur Wahl (continuing work by physicist Edwin McMillan) first produced element 94 (plutonium) in the 60-inch cyclotron at UC Berkeley. Exactly 1,700 days later, “Fat Man”—fueled by 13.6 lbs. of Pu-239— destroyed Nagasaki.
![A color photograph of two brass plaques mounted on a wall. The first reads:
PLUTONIUM
Element 94
Was discovered in this room in February 1941 [sic] by G.T. Seaborg, E.T. McMillan, A.C. Wahl, and J.W. Kennedy
[NOTE: Seaborg and his team chemically identified and confirmed the discovery of plutonium, and discovered plutonium-239, on the night of February 23-24, 1941. But the as yet unnamed element 94 (specifically the isotope plutonium-238) was first produced by bombarding uranium with deuterons in the 60-inch cyclotron at Berkeley on December 14, 1940.]
The second plaque reads:
Room 307 Gilman Hall
Has been designated a REGISTERED NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK
under the provisions of the Historic Sites Act of August 21, 1935. This site possesses exceptional value in commemorating or illustrating the history of the United States.
U.S. Department of the Interior
National Park Service
1966](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:iwbebt5r65c67xl5vy5iviwj/bafkreibtcvcyl3ohpcuhgfidkm7bv7ysqddepkyqex5av42vjnorqx3ydy@jpeg)
December 14, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Eighty-five years ago today, chemists Glenn Seaborg, Joseph Kennedy, and Arthur Wahl (continuing work by physicist Edwin McMillan) first produced element 94 (plutonium) in the 60-inch cyclotron at UC Berkeley. Exactly 1,700 days later, “Fat Man”—fueled by 13.6 lbs. of Pu-239— destroyed Nagasaki.
Reposted by ParadoxTrick
The New York Times tries to make a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) into a nuclear weapon.
December 14, 2025 at 7:10 PM
The New York Times tries to make a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) into a nuclear weapon.
Reposted by ParadoxTrick
I am absolutely gutted to hear that Dr. William (Bill) Burr of the
@nsarchive.bsky.social passed away yesterday. Bill was so kind, so generous, and so important to the field of nuclear history. And he was just a great guy on top of everything else. It is a huge loss.
@nsarchive.bsky.social passed away yesterday. Bill was so kind, so generous, and so important to the field of nuclear history. And he was just a great guy on top of everything else. It is a huge loss.
December 12, 2025 at 5:16 PM
I am absolutely gutted to hear that Dr. William (Bill) Burr of the
@nsarchive.bsky.social passed away yesterday. Bill was so kind, so generous, and so important to the field of nuclear history. And he was just a great guy on top of everything else. It is a huge loss.
@nsarchive.bsky.social passed away yesterday. Bill was so kind, so generous, and so important to the field of nuclear history. And he was just a great guy on top of everything else. It is a huge loss.
Reposted by ParadoxTrick
This was a dumb thing to do, but the article gets a lot wrong.
This was not a "device" in the nuclear weapons sense of an explosive without a delivery vehicle. It was not an explosive at all.
I'll write a post. #nukesky
This was not a "device" in the nuclear weapons sense of an explosive without a delivery vehicle. It was not an explosive at all.
I'll write a post. #nukesky
How Did the C.I.A. Lose a Nuclear Device in the Himalayas? (Gift Article)
A plutonium-packed generator disappeared on one of the world’s highest mountains in a covert mission that the U.S. will not talk about.
www.nytimes.com
December 13, 2025 at 1:45 PM
This was a dumb thing to do, but the article gets a lot wrong.
This was not a "device" in the nuclear weapons sense of an explosive without a delivery vehicle. It was not an explosive at all.
I'll write a post. #nukesky
This was not a "device" in the nuclear weapons sense of an explosive without a delivery vehicle. It was not an explosive at all.
I'll write a post. #nukesky