DOCSLIB.ORG

Shame: Confessions of the Father of the Neutron Bomb (4Th Edition)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Shame: Confessions of the Father of the Neutron Bomb (4Th Edition) Shame: Confessions of the Father of the Neutron Bomb (4th Edition) The 4th edition just restores the original title. It still includes the 3rd edition’s New Overview and Postscript Chapter, “The Profits of Fear” by Charles Platt Sam Cohen 2 Shame: Confessions of the Father of the Neutron Bomb 1996-2006 by Sam Cohen, Los Angeles; All rights reserved for all media. A free copy of this book may be found at: http://www.AthenaLab.com/ and http://www.hdssystems.com/ This 4th edition (2015) of Sam Cohen’s memoirs just restores the original title, which seems a much more appropriate legacy. Sam Cohen passed away in 2010, at age 89. The 3rd edition made Sam’s requested change of title (“F*** You! Mister President: …”) and added Charles Platt’s great new chapter. That title change reflected Sam’s outrage at George W. Bush and Barak Obama for starting and continuing unnecessary and disastrous wars, and for misleading the American people about them. Sam deeply regretted having voted for them. The 2nd edition (among other changes) had all of the previously deleted expletives restored, and had many typographical corrections. The old first (printed) edition of “Shame” is obsolete. Introduction 3 To Conrad Schneiker and Arp, my true and devoted friends. 4 Shame: Confessions of the Father of the Neutron Bomb Technical Editor’s Notes It’s very rare for any single book to really stand out in terms of many crucially important unvarnished first-hand historical ‘reality checks’. Sam Cohen’s book Shame is one of those few remarkable exceptions. The principle themes and characteristics of Sam’s book are: 1. It’s an inspiring story of dogged triumph over considerable childhood psychological torment and medical adversity. 2. It’s a remarkable story of recognizing the right problem to solve, versus merely reinventing bigger conventional weapons in new technologies. The neutron bomb aimed at reducing the civilian slaughter that now characterizes large-scale war—conventional and otherwise. It makes the morally crucial and counterintuitive case that the neutron bomb is the most moral weapon ever invented, and is thus the best type of nuclear bomb ever invented. (Keep in mind the prior actual and continuing dependence on monster stockpiles of inherently indiscriminate civilian-slaughtering—and civilian life-support infrastructure destroying—city-obliterating bombs.) 3. It’s a one-man American Perestroika and Glasnost movement, which honestly shows how many high-profile credit-mongering “Cold Warriors” and Cold War institutions were generally groups of cynical political opportunists who actually (and often knowingly) undermined real national security in their greedy lust for power, glory, and profit. 4. It’s to the foreign policy, national security, and military-industrial establishments what Feynman’s myth-shattering activities were to NASA’s phony Challenger ‘investigation’ (doublespeak for ‘cover-up’). It’s an amazing chronicle of how a handful of remarkable people can sometimes prevail over enormously larger institutional packs of political animals dominated by self-serving groupthink. It puts on record the sort of ‘real world’ bureaucratic skullduggery that others will generally only speak about off the record, and often only after swearing you to secrecy. 5. It shows why George Washington’s foreign policy advice—far from being allegedly obsolete—is actually becoming increasingly more important with proliferating advances in smaller and more powerful weapons. Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 7 1. Childhood and Life Before The Bomb ................................................................... 11 2. Winning The War At Los Alamos ......................................................................... 21 3. The Commies Are Coming .................................................................................... 35 4. Through The Neutron Looking Glass .................................................................. 123 5. So Nu? ................................................................................................................ 207 6. Shame ................................................................................................................. 259 7. Overview and Postscript: The Profits of Fear (Charles Platt) ..................... 263 7.1 Prologue: Nuclear News on Route 66 ............................................................... 263 7.2 The Drama ......................................................................................................... 263 7.3 The Most Moral weapon ................................................................................... 267 7.4 A Nuke by Any Other Name ............................................................................. 268 7.5 What’s a Neutron? ............................................................................................. 270 7.6 Warfare as a Biological Function ...................................................................... 272 7.7 The Global Consequences of Child Abuse ........................................................ 274 7.8 The Problem of Selling Sam .............................................................................. 276 7.9 The Profits of Fear ............................................................................................. 277 7.10 Epilogue: An Exercise in Futility ...................................................................... 280 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................... 283 Index ...................................................................................................................................... 285 Introduction All crystal balls are very, very cloudy. What we do know is that, barring divine intervention, human beings will remain human and this includes those involved in the formulation and implementation of US national security policies, especially nuclear weapon policies. As for those who have impacted on the evolution of U.S. nuclear policies, I have met, known and worked with a great many of them. As military men, in defending their profession and the their arsenals, are prone to say “Men make war, not weapons.” True, and they also make policies that lead to or — rather less often — avoid war. Our policies, which since World War II have gotten us into war after war — none of them successful or in our true interests — have remained the same. I have the gravest concerns that they will lead to still more wars whose consequences may seriously threaten our survival. These policies must be changed to keep us out of wars abroad and to be able to defend ourselves, at home. Unless this happens, I truly fear for our country. Historical scholars, ever since ancient times, have been tracing through and analyzing momentous eras in the course of human events. In recent years a number of them have applied themselves to the nuclear weapons era which, as I write seems to be coming to an end insofar as these weapons threatening mankind’s survival. All signs point to very large reductions in the arsenals of the United States and what used to be called the Soviet Union and with the apparent end of the Cold War, a large-scale nuclear war, with its devastating consequences and possibilities for the “Doomsday” scenario now seems remote. Not that currently non-nuclear countries won’t be clandestinely developing, buying, or even stealing nuclear warheads and means to deliver them; this probably can’t be stopped. That they might use these weapons in anger, this probably can’t be stopped. On the other hand, those countries that now possess nuclear stockpiles show increasing signs of being able to avoid their use. One could say, and I would concur, that the outlook for mankind’s survival has never looked better since the Nuclear Age began. What all this portends, I don’t pretend to know; nor does anyone else for that matter. Most of this book will be about my own personal experiences with those involved with the development and policy formulation for nuclear weapons. Having spent some forty or so years observing these people close at hand, nuclear weapons was my profession, I’ll be relating my experiences with and my opinions about them. For it was their collective behavior as human beings, not intellectual giants, as many of them were, which produced the evolvement of our policies. I’ll be telling tales about them, ranging from flattering to scurrilous, to show how these policies came about. As for our nuclear policies, what I’ll have to say will be mainly scurrilous, mainly because they’ve been divorced from human realities, which among other things involve going to war time after time. As for the people mainly responsible for the policies, I’ll be mainly scurrilous about them too, for they were people who thought they had a God-given ability to know the unknowable. At best, their behavior was hallucinatory; at worse they were just crooks and liars. 8 Shame: Confessions of the Father of the Neutron Bomb Of course, there were others, many others, who were just plain decent dedicated people, as I saw them, who dealt with nuclear weapons in one way or another and were interesting, even fascinating, enough to warrant attention here. As for myself, and I have no reservations in stating that I’ve had a major impact on our nuclear policy formulation process, I’ll have some not too flattering comments
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Se-183-00 Sommario.Vp
    STUDI MIGRATION EMIGRAZIONE STUDIES rivista trimestrale quarterly journal CENTRO STUDI EMIGRAZIONE - ROMA ANNO XLVIII - LUGLIO-SETTEMBRE 2011 - N. 183 SOMMARIO 150 anni della nostra storia: la pastorale agli emigrati in Europa e Australia a cura di VINCENZO ROSATO 355 – Introduzione, Vincenzo Rosato 357 – Cronologia e storia dell’emigrazione italiana, Matteo Sanfilippo 371 – Santa Sede e movimenti migratori: una lunga storia di attenzione alla persona umana, Gabriele Bentoglio 385 – Emigrazione italiana in Europa: missione e cura pastorale, Giovanni Graziano Tassello 407 – I pionieri del servizio ai migranti italiani. Gli interventi provvidenziali di Pallotti, Bosco, Scalabrini, Bonomelli e Cabrini a partire dall’Unità d’Italia, Vincenzo Rosato 427 – L’emigrazione nella memoria storica italiana. Una riflessione critica, Roberto Sala 442 – Gli italiani di Bedford: sessant’anni di vita in Inghilterra, Margherita Di Salvo 461 – Guerre fra compagni a cavallo del 1900. Il movimento socialista italiano in Svizzera ed il socialismo elvetico fra classe e nazione, Domenico Guzzo Coordinatore editoriale: Matteo Sanfilippo - Centro Studi Emigrazione - Roma 2011 477 – L’emigrazione italiana in Australia, Fabio Baggio, Matteo Sanfilippo 500 – Identity and cultural maintenance: Observations from a case study of third-generation Italian-Australians in South Australia, Melanie Smans, Diana Glenn 515 – Recensioni 524 – Segnalazioni 354 «Studi Emigrazione/Migration Studies», XLVIII, n. 183, 2011. Introduzione Gli ultimi 150 anni della storia italiana sono stati attraversati da numerose vicende, che hanno segnato profondamente le sorti della na- zione. Il grande sforzo di unificare il paese non ha, però, corrisposto al desiderio pressante di creare un unico popolo, anzi fin dall’inizio l’Ita- lia come il resto dell’Europa ha visto la partenza di tanti, che si sono sparsi per tutti i continenti.
    [Show full text]
  • Neutrons and Fundamental Symmetries Experimental II: Edms Chen-Yu Liu Indiana University [email protected]
    Neutrons and Fundamental Symmetries Experimental II: EDMs Chen-Yu Liu Indiana University [email protected] June 20, 2018 NNPSS 1 Topics I will cover: Lecture 1: beta-decay • A brief history of the electroweak theory---the precursor to the Standard Model. • Neutron decay to test the V-A theory & beyond the SM interactions • Current status with neutron experiments on gA & lifetime • Physics is Symmetries Lecture 2: EDM Q: Why does EDM violate T? • CP violation • Electric Dipole Moments: Highly sensitive low-energy probes of new Physics • muon- g-2 Lecture 3: other symmetry violation measurements/tests • Baryogenesis & symmetry violations • Nnbar oscillation: B violation • Hadronic weak interactions: P violation • NOPTREX: T violation • Neutron interferometry: Lorentz symmetry violation Chen-Yu Liu 2 Mirror (leftright) “Signatures of the Artist,” by S. Vigdor, Oxford University Press(2018) Challenge: Can you find the differences (in three places) between the final and the original picture? Mirror (up down) “Plane-filling motif with reptiles” by M.C. Escher P Blackwhite CP 3 CP T Since time symmetry requires that these time-reversed relative directions be equally probable, it requires that there be no average charge separation along the spin direction, so the EDM must vanish. or If an non-zero EDM is found, then the time reversal symmetry is violated, and through the CPT theorem, the CP is violated by the same amount. 4 Electric Dipole Moment of polar molecules NH3 molecule has two ground states. They are of the same energies (degenerate). Time Reversal J J d d d d J J Electric Dipole Moment of polar molecules NH3 molecule has two ground states.
    [Show full text]
  • A Renunciation of Nuclear Weapons One Citizen at a Time
    If governments derive their powers from the consent of the governed, as stated in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, then to what degree am I, as a citizen, morally, legally and spiritually responsible for the acts, and plans to act, of my government? Hiroshima -- August 1945 Baghdad -- 2004 ??? A Renunciation of Nuclear Weapons One Citizen At A Time Documents in support of United States citizens renouncing the use of nuclear weapons on their behalf a reference guide in support of study, reflection, prayer and protest Compiled and edited by Dennis Rivers with the cooperation of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and the Peacemaker Community Santa Barbara, California -- March 30, 2002 this document is available free of charge on the web at www.nonukes.org Dedicated to the children of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, August 1945. May we learn something from your suffering about our own capacity to not see what is before us, something we desperately need to understand about ourselves. And thus may you, even in death, be eternal protectors of life. And with great appreciation to these “friends of all life” for their courage, deep insight and luminous teaching by example Joanna Macy, Gene Knudsen Hoffman, Paloma Pavel, the late Walter Capps, Mayumi Oda, Ramon Panikkar, David Krieger, David Hartsough and Kazuaki Tanahashi A Renunciation of Nuclear Weapons One Citizen At A Time TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction. By Dennis Rivers 1 A brief citizen’s declaration regarding the use of nuclear 3 weapons Declaration of a United States Citizen Concerning the Use of 4 Nuclear Weapons by the United States (full-page version) Sample Paragraphs for Cover Letter to Elected Officials 6 Suggested Next Steps: Where to send copies of your 7 declaration and groups you can support that are working on the nuclear weapons issue Religious Organizations and Leaders on Nuclear Weapons and 8 Abolition (from www.nuclearfiles.org) Statement of Rabbi David Saperstein, Director, Religious 12 Action Center of Reform Judaism, On Nuclear Reduction/Disarmament 75 U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Not All Superheroes Were Created Equal
    00 gresh fm i-xii, 1-6 8/13/04 1:54 PM Page i THE SCIENCE OF SUPERVILLAINS Lois H. Gresh Robert Weinberg John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 00 gresh fm i-xii, 1-6 8/13/04 1:54 PM Page ii Copyright © 2005 by Lois H. Gresh and Robert Weinberg. All rights reserved Introduction © Chris Claremont. All rights reserved Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and the author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied war- ranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials.
    [Show full text]
  • The Catholic Prelature of Sts. Peter and Paul 12 Catherwood Street, Tewksbury, MA 01876‐2620, USA Tel
    Mt. Rev. William J. Manseau, SBM, D.Min. Married Priests Now! The Catholic Prelature of Sts. Peter and Paul 12 Catherwood Street, Tewksbury, MA 01876‐2620, USA Tel. 978‐851‐5547 April 27, 2014 Divine Mercy Sunday Apostles of Mercy: A Reflection on the Married Priests Now! Prophetic Mission of Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, Emeritus Archbishop of Lusaka, Zambia and the Canonizations of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II by Pope Francis Emmanuel Milingo was consecrated as a bishop for service in the Roman Catholic Church on August 1, 1969 by Pope Paul VI, Giovanni Batista Montini at Kololo Terrace, Kampala, Uganda following his election as Archbishop of Lusaka where he served from 1969 to 1983 as one of Africa’s youngest bishops. He experienced and developed a charismatic, Biblically based healing ministry and in 1976 he joined the Catholic charismatic renewal movement finding therein a link between his African heritage and his Catholic faith. The Second Vatican Council had revisited the question of charisms in the Church. As Leon Joseph Cardinal Suenens stated: “In regard to charisms, the Council adopted an open and receptive attitude expressed in a balanced text indicating that, providing that necessary prudence be observed, charisms should be recognized and esteemed in the Church of today. Indeed we might add: they are more important than ever before.” (A New Pentecost? Seabury Press, NY, 1975, p.30). Cardinal Suenens had been appointed by Pope Paul VI to oversee the world wide Roman Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Following his ordination as a priest in 1958, with additional education in Rome and Dublin, he became a champion of enculturation, espoused by Vatican II and later Pope John Paul II, working for the development of an authentic African Christianity expressed through indigenous spiritual and cultural symbols.
    [Show full text]
  • AKA Clark Kent) Middle Name Is Joseph
    Superman’s (AKA Clark Kent) Middle Name Is Joseph. What’s that?! There in the sky? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It’s the Man of Tomorrow! Superman has gone by many names over the years, but one thing has remained the same. He has always stood for what’s best about humanity, all of our potential for terrible destructive acts, but also our choice to not act on the level of destruction we could wreak. Superman was first created in 1933 by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, the writer and artist respectively. His first appearance was in Action Comics #1, and that was the beginning of a long and illustrious career for the Man of Steel. In his unmistakable blue suit with red cape, and the stylized red S on his chest, the figure of Superman has become one of the most recognizable in the world. The original Superman character was a bald telepathic villain that was focused on world domination. It was like a mix of Lex Luthor and Professor X. Superman’s powers include incredible strength, the ability to fly. X-ray vision, super speed, invulnerability to most attacks, super hearing, and super breath. He is nearly unstoppable. However, Superman does have one weakness, Kryptonite. When exposed to this radioactive element from his home planet, he becomes weak and helpless. Superman’s alter ego is mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent. He lives in the city of Metropolis and works for the newspaper the Daily Planet. Clark is in love with fellow reporter Lois Lane.
    [Show full text]
  • Kahn Used the Metaphor of an 'Escalation Ladder'
    Preventing Nuclear Use: Internationally-Controlled Theater Missile Defenses Among Non- Super-Arsenal States1 Carolyn C. James, PhD University of Missouri, Columbia INTRODUCTION The current debates over missile defenses in the United States all have a common aspect - the systems are meant to provide a defense for US territory, allies, or troops abroad.2 This article proposes a different view with significant security potential. Specifically, theater missile defenses (TMD) should be considered as an international tool to prevent nuclear weapons use among proliferated states.3 Internationally-controlled TMD placed at potential flash points could prevent conflicts and crises from escalating to nuclear levels. These areas include borders with so-called “rogue” states, such as North Korea, Iran and Iraq, all of whom have seemingly aggressive ballistic missile programs and are embroiled in protracted conflicts with their neighbors.4 Similar to the goal of peacekeeping, reducing and limiting conflict in regions such as the Middle East clearly is in the US national interest. How, then, can nuclear use be prevented? Currently, there are seven declared nuclear weapon states (US, Russia, China, Great Britain, France, Pakistan, India), one non-declared “opaque” nuclear weapon state (Israel), and several states with known or suspected nuclear aspirations (including Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Libya and Taiwan). Two of these, the US and Russia, have established a legacy of Cold War deterrence policies. Nuclear deterrence, in particular, has been credited with maintaining crisis stability during those years.5 Today, a major debate in the field of security studies surrounds the question: Does nuclear deterrence really work? A common failure in most of these discussions about successful deterrence and avoiding nuclear use is the lack of distinction among nuclear force levels.6 The debate tends to be clarified by asking whether it was nuclear weapons, or mutual assured destruction (MAD), that kept the Cold War cold.
    [Show full text]
  • Bul NKVD AJ.Indd
    The NKVD/KGB Activities and its Cooperation with other Secret Services in Central and Eastern Europe 1945 – 1989 Anthology of the international conference Bratislava 14. – 16. 11. 2007 Edited by Alexandra Grúňová Nation´s Memory Institute BRATISLAVA 2008 Anthology was published with kind support of The International Visegrad Fund. Visegrad Fund NKVD/KGB Activities and its Cooperation with other Secret Services in Cen- tral and Eastern Europe 1945 – 1989 14 – 16 November, 2007, Bratislava, Slovakia Anthology of the international conference Edited by Alexandra Grúňová Published by Nation´s Memory Institute Nám. SNP 28 810 00 Bratislava Slovakia www.upn.gov.sk 1st edition English language correction Anitra N. Van Prooyen Slovak/Czech language correction Alexandra Grúňová, Katarína Szabová Translation Jana Krajňáková et al. Cover design Peter Rendek Lay-out, typeseting, printing by Vydavateľstvo Michala Vaška © Nation´s Memory Institute 2008 ISBN 978-80-89335-01-5 Nation´s Memory Institute 5 Contents DECLARATION on a conference NKVD/KGB Activities and its Cooperation with other Secret Services in Central and Eastern Europe 1945 – 1989 ..................................................................9 Conference opening František Mikloško ......................................................................................13 Jiří Liška ....................................................................................................... 15 Ivan A. Petranský ........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • All Batman References in Teen Titans
    All Batman References In Teen Titans Wingless Judd boo that rubrics breezed ecstatically and swerve slickly. Inconsiderably antirust, Buck sequinedmodernized enough? ruffe and isled personalties. Commie and outlined Bartie civilises: which Winfred is Behind Batman Superman Wonder upon The Flash Teen Titans Green. 7 Reasons Why Teen Titans Go Has Failed Page 7. Use of teen titans in batman all references, rather fitting continuation, red sun gauntlet, and most of breaching high building? With time throw out with Justice League will wrap all if its members and their powers like arrest before. Worlds apart label the bleak portentousness of Batman v. Batman Joker Justice League Wonder whirl Dark Nights Death Metal 7 Justice. 1 Cars 3 Driven to Win 4 Trivia 5 Gallery 6 References 7 External links Jackson Storm is lean sleek. Wait What Happened in his Post-Credits Scene of Teen Titans Go knowing the Movies. Of Batman's television legacy in turn opinion with very due respect to halt late Adam West. To theorize that come show acts as a prequel to Batman The Animated Series. Bonus points for the empire with Wally having all sorts of music-esteembody image. If children put Dick Grayson Jason Todd and Tim Drake in inner room today at their. DUELA DENT duela dent batwoman 0 Duela Dent ideas. Television The 10 Best Batman-Related DC TV Shows Ranked. Say is famous I'm Batman line while he proceeds to make references. Spoilers Ahead for sound you missed in Teen Titans Go. The ones you essential is mainly a reference to Vicki Vale and Selina Kyle Bruce's then-current.
    [Show full text]
  • Development of a Dual-Particle Imaging System for Nonproliferation Applications
    Development of a Dual-Particle Imaging System for Nonproliferation Applications By Alexis Pierre Valère Poitrasson-Rivière A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillement of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences) in the University of Michigan 2016 Doctoral Committee: Professor Sara A. Pozzi, Chair Assistant Professor Marek Flaska, Penn State University Professor Zhong He Associate Professor David D. Wentzloff © Alexis Pierre Valère Poitrasson-Rivière 2016 Dedication This work is dedicated to my rock and my wind. ii Acknowledgements I would first of all like to thank my family and friends for supporting me throughout my doctoral studies. I would also like to thank my advisor, my committee members, the faculty and staff at the Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Sciences department, as well as all the students I had the chance to interact with, for making this experience fulfilling and enjoyable from start to finish. I would finally like to thank the different sponsors that have helped make this work possible. This work is supported, in part, by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency under Grant No. HDTRA1-09-C-0012, by the National Nuclear Security Administration through NA-22 funding opportunity DE-FOA-0000568, and by the National Science Foundation and the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office of the Department of Homeland Security through the Academic Research Initiative Award #CMMI 0938909. The prototype systems described in this work are funded by the Department of Energy,
    [Show full text]
  • Simulation of a High Speed Counting System for Sic Neutron
    Transactions of the Korean Nuclear Society Spring Meeting Jeju, Korea, May 7-8, 2015 Preliminary Study for Inventories of Minor Actinides in Thorium Molten Salt Reactor Choong Wie Lee* and Hee Reyoung Kim Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan 689-798, Republic of Korea *Corresponding author: [email protected] 1. Introduction 2.2 Concept equation for MSR MSR (Molten Salt Reactor) is one of GEN-IV reactor In the MSR, it is continually refueled during operation, types, of which the coolant and the fuel are mixtures of that is, the MSR is refueled online. Therefore, an isotope molten salt. Thus, it has different characteristic with the i in the reactor will be supplied as the rate of Ai. While conventional reactors which use a solid fuel. It can refueled, the wastes such as minor actinides and fission continually supply the fuel by online refueling and products produced after fission reaction are removed reprocessing of minor actinides so that those can be from the inside of the MSR. Chemical reprocessing is separated and eliminated from the reactor. The MSR used to extract minor actinides from salts and transfer maintains steady state except initial stage and the reactor those to the reprocessing unit. By this reprocessing, the becomes stable. In this research, considering online wastes in the reactor are extracted regularly without refueling, bubbling and reprocessing, the basic concept reactor shutdown. It increases the operation stability of for evaluation of the inventory of minor actinide in the the reactor and decreases the generation of the molten salt reactor is driven using the Bateman equation.
    [Show full text]
  • Omnicide “Here Is What We Now Know: the United States and Russia Each Have an Actual Doomsday Machine.”
    Omnicide “Here is what we now know: the United States and Russia each have an actual Doomsday Machine.” By Daniel Ellsberg From The Doomsday Machine, published by Bloomsbury. The book is an account of America’s nuclear program in the 1960s drawn from Ellsberg’s experience as a consultant to the Department of Defense and the White House, drafting Secretary Robert McNamara’s plans for nuclear war. Ellsberg is the author of Secrets, a book about his experiences leaking the Pentagon Papers. At the conclusion of his 1964 film, Dr. Strangelove, Stanley Kubrick introduced the concept of a “Doomsday Machine”—designed by the Soviet Union to deter nuclear attack against the country by automating the destruction of all human life as a response to such an attack. The movie’s Russian leader had installed the system before revealing it to the world, however, and it was now being triggered by a single nuclear explosion from an American B-52 sent off by a rogue commander without presidential authorization. Kubrick had borrowed the name and the concept of the Doomsday machine from my former colleague Herman Kahn, a Rand physicist with whom he had discussed it. In his 1960 book On Thermonuclear War, Kahn wrote that he would be able to design such a device. It could be produced within ten years and would be relatively cheap— since it could be placed in one’s own country or in the ocean. It would not depend on sending warheads halfway around the world. But, he said, the machine was obviously undesirable. It would be too difficult to control— too inflexible and automatic—and its failure “kills too many people”— everyone, in fact, an outcome that the philosopher John Somerville later termed “omnicide.” Kahn was sure in 1961 that no such system had been built, nor would it be, by either the United States or the Soviet Union.
    [Show full text]