Glenn T. Seaborg knew about the Bomb from the inside out: he discovered plutonium, worked at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, served on the General Advisory Committee during the Truman administration, and accepted President Kennedy’s offer to become Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. During his ten-year tenure at the AEC, Seaborg kept a journal. In …
Nick Burns on the NPT
by | 2010-06-14 | 48 Comments
Whenever I give a public talk for a general audience, I always focus on the question, “Why is it okay for some countries to have nuclear weapons, but not for others?” Someone asked that question this morning on The Diane Rehm Show today in reference to Iran — note to the caller, it is not …
Is North Korea Pursuing Boosted Bombs?
by | 2010-06-11 | 19 Comments
Maybe. Over at 38 North, I have a post up about North Korea’s boast that its scientists “succeeded in nuclear fusion reaction” and what that might mean for its stockpile of nuclear weapons: A boosted weapon requires tritium (or, in the case of the “layer cake,” lithium-6 deuteride) which has a half-life of only 12.4 …
SATANAC
by | 2010-06-10 | 3 Comments
We have official word about Bob Einhorn’s new role at State — he is the U.S. Coordinator for Iran and North Korea Sanctions. That acronym works out to CINKS (as in, throwing everything at them, including the Kitchen CINK), but the striped pants wags around Foggy Bottom have done one better. Einhorn is currently the …
