nuclear

700 tons of nuclear waste have arrived in Germany from England. Germans are not quite happy

by

A very particular shipment has landed on the German coasts. The special ship for the transport of nuclear waste Pacific Grebe docked in the port of Nordenham, northwest of Germany, transporting highly radioactive waste from the United Kingdom. Upon arrival, It was received by antinuclear activists and a strong police device. The controversial delivery. In total, seven castor nuclear containers, each four meters long and with a weight of more than 100 tons. More than 700 tons of nuclear waste in total only with this shipment. It’s about high -level waste (HLW) subject to a vitrification process. That is, mixed with liquid silicates and sponsored in stainless steel cylinders that are sealically sealed once the glass solidifies. These cylinders are then introduced into Castor containers, made of cast iron and stainless steel, a robust armor against radiation. They are German waste. The remains of the reprocessing of nuclear fuel used in former German centrals, which until 2005 was sent to facilities such as Sellafield’s in the United Kingdom and Hague, in France. Although Germany closed its last nuclear centrals in 2023, it has the contractual obligation to recover waste. This is the second of the three shipments planned from Sellafield to complete the repatriation of German nuclear waste. The first arrived in 2020 and was stored in Bibliis. Shipments from France concluded in November 2024. Once in Nordenham, Castor containers are moving with cranes to a special train. Before embarking on the ground, technicians make measurements to ensure that radiation levels comply with legal limits. The train takes the remains to a Intermediate storage In Narderaichbach (Bavaria), next to the old nuclear power plant in ISAR. The exact route remains a secret for security reasons. Why protests? The arrival of new waste has revived the debate and nuclear opposition in Germany. Groups like Ausgestrahlt (“Irradiada”) and Castor-Stoppen (“Stop the Castor”) have organized the protests. They argue that every movement of these materials “entails a huge risk” and criticize that the waste moves to Temporary storesinstead of waiting to have a deep geological cemetery definitive. Move them now, They say“only postpone the problem and do not solve it”, and ask that the waste only transports once towards their final destination. More protests are expected along the route that will presumably follow the train, including cities such as Bremen and Göttingen. There is a strong police deployment around these transports. The temporary stores. Germany faces the challenge of managing about 27,000 cubic meters of accumulated radioactive waste for 60 years of nuclear energy. For now, these materials are stored in 16 temporary stores distributed throughout the country. The search for deep geological storage to bury them definitively is underway, but it is a long and complex process, As Finland has demonstratedwhose example now follows countries that are closing their nuclear plants; Germany and Spain at the head. In short. Germany is fulfilling its international obligations by bringing its own nuclear waste back. It is what promised the United Kingdom and France. But each shipment reopens the wound of an unresolved problem: the lack of a permanent and safe home for the most delicate legacy of its nuclear era, which generates restlessness and protests between part of its population. Image | Download a Castor container in 2001-Dennis140 (CC-BY-SA) In Xataka | Switzerland will come true the invention of Nobel Carlo Rubbia: a nuclear power plant that reduces 80% of radioactive waste In Xataka | France has presented a striking plan for its nuclear waste: converting them into forks and pans

The US was prepared for total destruction in the cold war. This map for nuclear apocalypse illustrates it

by

The launch of Nagasaki and Hiroshima atomic bombs It was a turning point. Practically, marked the end of the Second World War while starting a Cold war in which the United States and Russia were carried away by nuclear ecstasy. The two powers engaged in a nuclear career without controlbut it is not that they developed the crazy bombs: there were also lists of enemy objectives. And on an interactive map prepared by Future of Life We can see about 1,000 objectives to which the United States would launch a nuclear bomb. But there were many more. The map. In 2015, a study of the United States Strategic Air Command was declared – SAC – that showed a thousand potential objectives in the case of nuclear war. If this possibility flew over the heads of some with the recent Ukraine War, imagine the stage in a cold war in which you could have the feeling that the enemy could squeeze the “button” at any time. There are more than 800 pages in which the objectives of these strategic bombings with nuclear weapons are detailed to erase any enemy presence. In it map From the George Washington University we can not only appreciate some of the main objectives, but the secondary objectives of each of them. For example, if we select Berlin, we can see the objective list And consequences of that study of 1956. Beyond the cities, another priority was the aerodromes, keys to a Soviet counterattack, specifically those located in Belarus. Easting east. Apart from military objectives such as strategic points and aerodromes, the listIt includes more than 1,200 cities of the Soviet block. It is where we can see that more dots are gathered on the map of Future of Life and range from cities of Eastern Germany to China. Moscow would fall into the Red Square, directly (and on this map we can see the Impact of different bombs in any city). The Asian giant, will fight or not next to the Soviet block in case of war, was something that did not matter to SAC. He treated them as hostile, selecting military objectives, but also the Beijing capital. And something that several of the bombed cities have in common is that the SAC already assumed objectives of “population.” The bombs. The plan was well mounted because there was not only a list of objectives, but also the type of weapons that would be used. They would use a combination of atomic and thermonuclear weapons with yields between 1.6 to 15 megatons. Far from the 50 megatons of the Soviet Zar pump, but much more than the 16 kilotons of Little Boy and the 21 kilotons of Fat Man, which wreaked havoc in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively. The megabomba. We have talked about the tsar pump, or tsar bomb, and in the United States there was also talk of it in 1956. It is not only the bomb that has caused the largest nuclear explosion so far, but it was 3,000 times more powerful than ‘Little boy’. The Russians had that bomb and the United States wanted an equal. In the declassified material, it is detailed how the SAC wanted a 60 megatones bomb. Not only did they identify him as something key in order to be tremendously deterrent but, in case of Soviet surprise attack, they could launch it at a strategic point to “ensure significant results even with a very small force.” In that nuclear ecstasy, the nuclear physicist Edward Teller (“Father” of the bomb H) proposed 1,000 metatones dissositive and up to 10 gigatons. 10 gigatons equals explosive power 670,000 times greater than that of the Hiroshima bomb. Luckily they did not do it, since affirmed that “would contaminate the earth”In the end, the US did not develop such a monstrous bomb. Nor the 60 megatones that the SAC wanted. And the media. And, within the plan, it also specified how the pumps would be launched. There were two systems: for the delivery of B-47 bombers, the United States would use its bases in the United Kingdom, Morocco and Spain. They would also use the B-52 from the US, although they were starting their journey. For the missile system, the eyelets would be loaded in the Snark, Rascal, Cross Bow and IRBM missiles. The first was a failure in the evidence and the great priority of President Eisenhower were the IRBM. These intermediate -reach ballistic missiles projected scope of up to 2,700 kilometers and the idea was to deploy them and throw them from the United Kingdom. Insured mutual destruction. But well, the United States had its Soviet axis attack plan, but the USSR also had its own. In the Soviet plans the Western military infrastructure, the industrial centers and large cities in both the US and its allies entered. They would do it by hydrogen pumps, tactical pumps that could mount on torpedoes and missiles released from mobile platforms. But although the logic could not reign in the massive development of weapons, the fear and that position of both ‘Mad’ countries did, or ‘insured mutual destruction’ that marked that, if a country launched a nuclear attack, automatically the other would respond with a proportional force. This led to threats over the years (such as the deployment of American missiles in Türkiye and Italy or the subsequent crisis of Cuba missiles, but fortunately it did not reach more. And what happens today. In 1986, the two countries reached the zenith of their nuclear arsenal and, from that moment, they dismantled much of their arsenal. The USSR came to have more than 40,000 heads while the United States reached 23,317, but as we say, different pacts and that tension that dissipated with the fall of the Berlin wall caused them to get rid of much of its arsenal. The problem is that other countries -china- have developed and are found enhancing its own nuclear arsenaland in recent years there is a kind of new … Read more

What if the constants of the universe are not so constant? We have taken an important step to know. The key is on the nuclear clock

by

Atomic watches have meant a before and after in our ability to measure time in an outraged way. These types of watches are precise at such a level that some of the most exact ones would be discouraged in less than a second at the time in which the universe has been existing. Despite this, these watches are not precise enough to solve one of the most important unknowns in physics. Closer to the nuclear clock. Now, however, we are a little closer to achieving a milestone that can open the door to solve this type of doubts, Nuclear watches. These watches will allow us to advance several orders of magnitude in the creation of time measurement apparatus, ultra -precise watches to investigate the new physics. From atomic to nuclear. The nomenclature can lead to confusion, and when we talk about atomic watches and nuclear watches we are not talking about the same technology. While the mechanism of atomic watches depends on the state of excitation of the atom electrons; in the Nuclear watchesthis depends on the particles in nucleus. As its name indicates. Atomic watches depend on the transitions in the state of their electrons. When they absorb energy, they can “jump” in their state. Jumps that can be reversed, only when this occurs, it is the electron that emits energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation. Something similar occurs in the nucleus of atoms, only that, being the most isolated nucleus of other physical interactions external to the atom, the transitions of their subatomic particles would be even more precise and reliable than those that occur in the atomic “shell” formed by electrons. Torio-229. To make a nuclear clock work, we also need to transfer energy to the atom, to its nucleus, of course. When we hit the nucleus with a specific frequency of electromagnetic radiation, we can change its energy state, as if it were a switch. Nuclear watches, such as atomic, would only have to tell the energy changes in this context. The problem is that causing these jumps in the atomic nucleus is also more difficult. The main difficulty is to excite atomic nuclei enough to cause the “jumps.” To do this we must hit these coherent X -rays nuclei, a high frequency X -ray type and therefore high energy. So much that, in general we do not have the necessary instruments to produce them. “In general”. And, as with electrons, not all these “jumps” require the same energy. Almost half a century ago, researchers realized that the isotope atomic nuclei Torio-229 (229th) It had a jump that required the energy equivalent to that of ultraviolet light. When requiring less energy, building a laser capable of transferring energy to the nucleus, it became Something feasible. Half a century of work. The “Nuclear Transition” of Torio It was discovered in 1976. But that was just the beginning. And it would not be until 2016 that we would observe and measure it. Measure it is key, since if we want to force the transition we must know the exact frequency with which we have to “bombard” the atomic nucleus of this isotope to be able to force it and activate the process. How close are we really? A few months ago, a group of researchers He tested Some of the key elements behind this technology, which allows us to get an idea of ​​how close we are to be able to create a nuclear clock based on 229th. The team tested an ultraviolet laser capable of creating precise energy to force jumps in the state of the nucleus. He also studied a “frequency grid” to directly measure these jumps. In addition, they also studied the transition from Torio-229. The details of the study were Published in an article In the magazine Nature. From dark matter to universal constants. And all this for what? Do we really need more precise watches than atomic? The truth is that this new technology would have important benefits, first for the scientific community, but also for all citizens. These watches They can help us to improve technologies such as GPS and other navigation systems; And also global Internet synchronization, also making the connection faster and safer communications. We would also open the door to more precise measurements that help us clarify some of the mysteries that persecute physicists such as dark matter. Maybe more importantly, these watches could help us develop experiments that resolve One of the most important doubts of physics, the one of universal constants They are really constant And they do not change depending on factors such as the age of the universe or the frame of reference in which we find ourselves, as we until now assumed. In Xataka | Cosmologists are increasingly clear where the most energy particles in the universe come from Image | Nsit

a nuclear missile and a survival manual for the nation

by

Germany was the first nation in Europe that seemed to have gotten to work with the “rearme.” That several car factories, for decades the engine of their economy, were becoming Military Armament Factoriesleft little doubt about it. In fact, the budget they have announced allocate in defense It is historical. Now it has touched France, who does not seem to go with mediacias. Multiply nuclear deterrence. Paris has announced the creation of a Fourth Nuclear Air Base In Luxeuil, to the east of the country, as part of an ambitious plan to strengthen its independent dissuasion capacity of the United States in the framework of NATO. This base, which at the time was at risk of closing, will house two squadrons of Rafale f5 fighters equipped with ASN4G hypersonic missilesan investment of 1.5 billion euros which marks a significant expansion of its nuclear arsenal. The decision responds to a tense geopolitical context, in which The war in Ukraine and uncertainty about American commitment to European defense They have led Paris to assume a more leading paper in the safety of the continent. An autonomous strategy within NATO. Currently, the French Air Force operates three nuclear bases in Saint-Dizier, Istres and Avord, which house approximately 50 Rafale B fighters armed with ASMP-A nuclear missiles and supported by Airbus A330 MRTT Phénix. The incorporation of 40 additional rafale f5 In Luxeuil it implies a substantial increase in France’s nuclear capacity, which could translate into a Increase in the total number of eyelets operational In addition to being compatible with the new ASN4G missiles, the Rafale F5 will be equipped to Operate in conjunction with drones Combat, an innovation that reinforces the French strategy strategy and greater stealth. These fighters, designed to remain in service until 2060, will consolidate the French air nuclear capacity, keeping it at the technological avant -garde against emerging threats. Pressure on Germany. The announcement of the nuclear expansion coincided with the Macron visit to Germanywhere he met with European leaders, while in parallel Trump and Putin maintained bilateral conversations. A context that suggests that France seeks not only to strengthen its own nuclear deterrencebut also to press Germany and other NATO members to increase Your investment in defense. Berlin, as we said at the beginning, is in the process of Eliminate restrictions Constitutional to military spendingwhich opens the door to that narrower cooperation in nuclear deterrence. In this sense, France has been exploring the possibility of display nuclear weapons in Germanya measure that could materialize if the United States reduces its commitment to European security. Of course, establishing a nuclear base in German territory would raise political and strategic challengesmaking the expansion within France a more viable alternative for the moment. ASN4G missiles. One of the key elements, if not the one that most expansion is the development of ASN4G hypersonic missile (Air-Sol Nucléaire of 4e Génération), which will exceed Mach 5 and will have A scope of more than 1,000 kilometerstwice the reach of the current ASMP-A. In comparison, the ASMP-A reaches Mach 3 with a maximum range of 500 kilometers and is equipped with a 300 kilotons thermonuclear load. Again, this technological advance positions France at the forefront of air nuclear deterrence in Europe, providing it with a faster attack capacity, of greater scope and difficult to intercept. In addition, the incorporation of formed fuel tanks and radar signal reduction systems in Rafale F5 its stealth and capacity will increase of penetration in hostile environments. And a survival manual. In parallel to this “increase” in nuclear deterrence, the French government is preparing the sending of A “Survival Manual” to all homes of the country with instructions on how to act in the face of imminent threats, such as armed conflicts, but also for health crises or natural disasters. This initiative, still pending approval by Prime Minister François Bayrou, seeks to strengthen the resilience of the population and ensure that citizens know how to react in case of emergency. It is expected that the document, of 20 pages, be distributed before summer and serves as a preparation guide against increasingly plausible crisis scenarios in the current context. Content of the manual. We had seen it before in Nations like Germany. In this case, the manual will be divided into three key sectionsproviding citizens with detailed information on self -protection and community protection measures, including the importance of having a family emergency plan. Also on actions to be taken before an imminent threat, such as maintaining closed doors and windows in case of nuclear attack, as well as a list of emergency numbers and essential radio frequencies. Finally, the content adds options to contribute to civil defenseencouraging registration in reserve units, volunteer firefighters and other crisis response groups. Plus: The document will recommend to citizens prepare a “survival kit”, which must include six liters of water, at least a dozen food cans, batteries, flashlight and basic medical supplies (such as paracetamol, gauze and saline solution). An uncertain future. Both the manual and the rearme are still a symbol of the New France position Faced with global challenges. With a Europe more and more vulnerable to conflicts, energy crisis and natural disasters, Macron seems to bet on a more prepared and resilient society, while reinforcing the military capacity of the country. In addition, with the decision to strengthen its nuclear capacity through the Luxeuil Base, the Nation sends a clear message: it is willing to assume strategic leadership in European defense, adapting to an increasingly unstable global environment. That distant plan that in 1959 Charles de Gaulle devised In the middle of the cold war again sounds strongly. Image | Aleem Yousaf In Xataka | In the middle of the Cold War, France designed a nuclear rearme plan for Europe. Now sound strongly In Xataka | The “rearme” of Europe has begun in a Volkswagen factory in Germany: instead of cars they will produce tanks

It is the gamma radiation of nuclear waste

by

Research in The field of batteries It does not cease. And it is understandable that it is so. The popularization of the electric car requires that these energy storage devices have The best possible benefits. As we suggest in the headline, the protagonist of this article is a technology that pursues Develop nuclear batteries For electronic devices. This idea is the fruit of an investigation developed by a group of engineers from Ohio State University (USA). In the article they have published in Optical materials: x They argue that it is possible to use the radioactive waste resulting from the activity of the fission reactors in operation to generate the electricity that many electronic devices require. “We are taking advantage of something that is considered a waste and trying to transform it into a treasure,” has declared Raymond Caonuclear engineer and one of the authors of the article. To test their idea they have manufactured a small prototype battery that has an approximate volume of 4 cubic centimeters. Its plan consists of introducing CESIO-137 or cobalt-60, two radioactive chemical elements that are usually the product of nuclear fission, with the purpose of using Gamma radiation They emit for Generate a small amount of electricity. Its prototype delivered 288 nanovatos with Cesio-137 and 1.5 microvatts with cobalt-60. It is evident that it is very little electricity, but these scientists are able to improve their technology enough to feed some not very demanding electronic devices, such as small sensors or monitors that require little maintenance. In any case, they do not propose these batteries for the consumer market. If they manage to refine their technology, they maintain that it can be used on devices housed near the facilities in which the radioactive residue occurs, such as, for example, inside the nuclear plants. On the other hand, they ensure that their battery can be handled safely and will not contaminate the environment. Gamma radiation is very penetrating, which will force them to put a very robust protective enclosure. In addition, they leave another question in the air: it is not clear what the useful life of such a battery will be. Gamma is a form of ionizing radiation Radioactivity is the process of natural origin that explains how An atomic nucleus Unstable loses energy in the attempt to achieve a more stable state. And to achieve this emits radiation. Around the nucleus orbit one or several elementary particles even much more tiny and with negative electric charge to which we call electrons. The nucleus, in turn, is made up of one or more protons, which are particles with positive electric charge. The simplest atom That we can find in nature is that of Protio (Hydrogen-1), an isotope of hydrogen that has a single proton in its nucleus and a single electron orbiting around it. The problem is that matter is not composed only of protio, but also of many other more complex and heavy chemical elements, and that, therefore, have more protons in their nucleus and more electrons orbiting around it. How is it possible that there is more than one proton in the nucleus If all of them have a positive electric charge? The reasonable thing is to think that they could not be close together because having the same elementary electric charge would repel. And yes, this idea is consistent. Those responsible for solving this dilemma are neutrons, the particles that live with the protons in the atomic nucleus. The Higgs field is a fundamental interaction that explains how particles acquire their mass Unlike protons, neutrons have neutral global electric charge, so they do not “feel” either repulsion or electromagnetic attraction to which protons and electrons are exposed. The function of neutrons is none other than stabilizing the nucleus, allowing several protons to live in it that, otherwise, would repel. And they manage to do so thanks to the action of one of the four fundamental forces of nature: strong nuclear interaction. The other three forces are electromagnetic interaction, gravity and weak nuclear interaction. Physicists usually place this same level The Higgs fieldwhich is another fundamental interaction that explains How particles acquire their massbut to facilitate their understanding, the texts usually collect as fundamental forces the four that I have mentioned a little higher because they are somehow with which we are all familiar. The nucleones, which are the protons and neutrons of the atomic nucleus, manage to stay together and overcome the natural repulsion that protons face because the presence of neutrons allows strong nuclear force to exercise as a glue capable of imposing itself to electromagnetic force. Strong nuclear interaction has a very small reach, but at short distances its intensity is enormous. The important thing about all this is that neutrons, as I advanced a few lines above, act stabilizing the atomic nucleus, so that as an atom has more protons, it will also need that in its nucleus there are more neutrons so that the attractive strong force manages to impose itself to the repulsive electromagnetic force. Interestingly, the balance between the amount of protons and neutrons is very delicate. An atom is stable if its nucleus has a precise amount of nucleons and the distribution of these between protons and neutrons allows strong nuclear interaction to act as “glue.” For this reason in nature we can only find A finite amount of chemical elements: those that collect the periodic table with which we are all to a greater or lesser extent familiar. Any other combination of protons and neutrons would not allow to maintain that fine balance, giving rise to an unstable atom. What differentiates a stable atom from an unstable one is that in the nucleus of the latter the strong nuclear interaction and electromagnetic force are not in equilibrium, so the atom needs to modify its structure to achieve a state of less energy that allows it to adopt a more stable configuration. A stable atom is “comfortable” with its current structure and … Read more

China intimidates in nuclear fusion. The construction of its own iter advances at full speed

by

The way to a destiny as challenging as the nuclear fusion Commercial must necessarily be full of small conquests. Of achievements that may seem modest, but that, in reality, are milestones that place us a little closer to an ambitious goal that does not pursue anything other than help us solve our energy needs without continuing to emit greenhouse gases. In this context Iter monopolizes much of attention. And it is understandable that it is so. After all, it is a project with a huge wingspan, which is also led by the European Union. In fact, this organization is assuming together approximately 50% of the total cost of a plan in which the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India and South Korea also participate. However, the commitment of public origin for nuclear fusion is not condensed only in Iter. And it is not limited only to the European Union. Not much less. Europe is pointing Very important scientific milestonesbut there are other countries that are also being very high, and that, precisely, do not move in the orbit of the West. In fact, two of them, probably the most outstanding, are China and South Korea. The Chinese experimental reactor CFETR is extraordinarily promising China that, as we have seen, actively participates in Iter’s tuning, has been engaged in the development of an experimental nuclear fusion reactor for several years at least as ambitious as the latter. It’s called CFETR (Chinese Fusion Engineering Testing Reactor), A denomination that we can translate as a test reactor for Chinese fusion engineering. The engineers of the country led by Xi Jinping completed their conceptual design in 2015 taking as a starting point the Chinese fusion reactors East, HL-2a (M) and J-Text. The experts of the commission that certifies nuclear facilities have approved the first section of the vacuum chamber CFETR has much in common with Iter. In fact, it aspires to complement the machine that is being built in the French town of Cadarache, and, at the same time, it is nourished by the knowledge generated during the design and development of Iter. Anyway The construction of the CFETR reactor It is already underway. And advances at a very good pace. In fact, just two days ago the experts of the Chinese commission that certifies the nuclear facilities gave the final approval to the first section of the reactor vacuum chamber. This is the gigantic component that we can see in the cover photography of this article. The CFETR reactor vacuum chamber will consist of seven other sections such as this, will have a height of 20 meters and will be made of stainless steel of very low carbon content. Inside, fusion reactions between the deuterium and tritium nuclei will occur that will be magnetically confined in a plasma that will exceed 100 million degrees Celsius. The most interesting thing is that this machine will operate in two phases. During the first of them, he will prove that he is able to generate up to 200 MW of energy, as well as sustain a tritium production ratio greater than 1. This simply means that will produce more tritio than consumeso he will be able to self -abuse from this radioactive hydrogen isotope. During the second phase of operation, the CFETR reactor will pursue more than 1 GW of power, so it will become a demonstration machine that, if everything goes well, will be happened by the first commercial fusion energy plants. Image | Xinhua News More information | China Science In Xataka | Spain’s milestone in nuclear fusion: the first plasma produced by the Smart reactor invites us to optimism

SMR reactors are the great promise of nuclear energy. The United States pilot project has failed

by

Fission energy based on small modular reactors (SMR) is the great promise to complement renewables in the energy transition. But the failure of the first pilot project in the United States has highlighted the economic challenges that could stop its development. The advantages of SMR. With nuclear fusion energy in diapers, the promise of a safer, cheap and efficient fission nuclear excites political leaders and technological equally. SMRs have clear benefits regarding conventional fission reactors: they are Compact unitsdesigned to be manufactured in series; Therefore, in theory, they can be transported and assembled rapidly, adapting to different locations to integrate into the electricity grid together with intermittent sources, such as solar panels and wind turbines. The Nuscale case. With their compact size and modular design, SMRs should considerably reduce the cost and construction times of large nuclear reactors. However, reality proved to be more complicated For the first pilot project in the United States. The Nuscale project, developed by the Nuscale Power company for small Utah communities, was canceled at the end of 2023, when it was supposed to be inaugurated, due to its crazy cost overruns. It had been projected in 2015 with 12 reactors capable of generating 600 MW of power for 3,000 million dollars. By 2023, The planned capacity of the plant had been reduced to 462 MW and the estimated project costs had climbed up to 9.3 billion dollars. He became unfeasible. A scale problem. Despite their modular nature and the aspiration to produce them in series, SMRs are an emerging technology that does not have the advantages of the scale economy, as renewables do. A German report He revealed that SMRs remain the most expensive option against renewable technologies, whose costs continue to decrease This already happened with conventional nuclear energy. A 2014 study He revealed that 180 nuclear projects analyzed, 175 had exceeded their initial budget with an average overrun of 117%. The SMR can be expected, at least initially, also raise the cost per megavatio compared to other more settled options. Many interested. Despite these financial challenges,The industry sees potential in SMR. Giants like Google, Microsoft and Amazon They have announced agreements to acquire energy from future projects of modular reactors of companies such as Kairos Power and X-Energy. These investments, driven by the energy consumption of artificial intelligence, could provide the financial impulse that the industry needs to solve long -term economic problems, with the expectation that costs decrease as more projects are built. Image | Nuscale Power In Xataka | Europe does not want to lose the SMR nuclear reactors train. This is your formula to deploy them in 2030

He has just announced his first nuclear submarine

by

Russia and North Korea have been idilio with All types of gifts. It all started in April 2024, when we saw Kim Jong a A armored limousine that came with Moscow loop. Since then, between both nations they The “packages” have happened: tigers, bears, raw, missiles, soldiers… lack of official confirmation, everything seems to indicate that the fears of the United States and its allies about the “nuclearization” of Korean with Russian aid is underway. There are even photos of the last “toy.” The first nuclear submarine. North Korea has confirmed that he is building Your first nuclear submarine with the aim of strengthening its attack capacity with atomic weapons. In A report Published on the weekend by the state agency KCNA (Korean Central News Agency), the images showed the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting a part of what seems to be the new submarine, one of significantly larger size than those currently owned by the Nation. No doubt, the announcement occurs in a context of growing international concern, especially in the United States and South Korea, since both nations fear that Russia is providing Technological support to Korea from the north to modernize its army in exchange for Supply of troops and weapons conventional for the War in Ukraine. The context of the project. What we officially know is that, during his visit to an unidentified naval shipyard, Kim Jong-un He received a report on the advances in the construction of the “strategic submarine of guided nuclear propulsion missiles”. The state media also spread photographs in which the helmet of said submarine under construction is observed, which would mark the first time North Korea shows visual evidence of a nuclear submarine in development. In this regard, it is known that the nation has dozens of submarines of the Soviet era, All diesel-electricalwhich means that they must frequently emerge to recharge their batteries, limiting their autonomy and stealth capacity in long -range missions. Hence, a nuclear propulsion submarine is A paradigm shift that would allow Pyongyang to operate covert in distant waters, approaching without being detected to strategic objectives and, if necessary, launch nuclear missiles from unexpected positions. Possible characteristics. The submarine could belong to the class 6,000 to 7,000 tons and transport up to 10 missiles, According to Moon Keun-SikSpecialist in Submarines and Professor at Hanyang University in Seoul. Obviously, the mention of “guided strategic missiles” in the report suggests that the boat would be designed to Port nuclear weaponswhich would significantly increase the attack capacity of North Korea. As we indicated before, if this project materializes, it would give Pyongyang the ability to launch missiles from a submerged platform, which would make the early detection of its attacks more difficult by its rivals. In fact, the United States National Security Council, through its spokesman Brian Hughes, said that I was aware of the statements North Korea, although it did not provide additional information. “The United States is still committed to the complete denuclearization of North Korea,” he reiterated. Kim’s wishes. We said it at the beginning. Since 2021Kim Jong-un identified the construction of a nuclear submarine as one of the priorities of its defense policy. However, until now, analysts have indicated that the nation lacked the technical and engineering capacity to develop a compact nuclear reactor capable of propeller a submarine. That year the “leader” presented A “wish list” which included intercontinental ballistic missiles of solid fuel, hypersonic weapons, spy satellites, missiles with multiple nuclear heads and finally nuclear propulsion submarines. What has changed? Moscow. Russia appears. With the growing military cooperation Between Pyongyang and Moscow, the possibility that Russia provides technological assistance in exchange for the Thousands of soldiers and large amounts of ammunition that North Korea has sent to support the Russian invasion in Ukraine. According to Yang Moo-JinPresident of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, this strategic exchange is the one that will significantly accelerate the development of the North Korean nuclear submarine. The expert in submarines Moon Keun-Sik argued that Russia was behind providing technological assistancepossibly in the construction of a compact nuclear reactor to propel the submarine. He even ventured to estimate that if North Korea manages to complete development, the submarine could be tested in the next one or two before its operational deployment. The precedent of 2023 and the doubts. The announcement of this new submarine comes after North Korea will present in 2023 Its first “nuclear tactical attack submarine”, a model based on an old diesel submarine of the Soviet era, supposedly modified to launch nuclear missiles. The problem? That the South Korean army He expressed skepticism On the viability of the vessel, pointing out that its design seemed defective and not very operational. To date, in fact, there is no evidence that North Korea has managed to launch missiles From that platform. In contrast, the new submarine, according to experts, seems to be a larger size to the 2023 model And it would take the title of “Strategic Submarine of Guided Missions of Nuclear Propulsion”, which suggests that it would be designed to launch both nuclear ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. Strategic implications and danger. If North Korea manages to successfully develop an operational nuclear submarine, it would significantly change the military balance in the region, increasing Pyongyang’s capacity to perform those surprise attacks that we commented and hindering the detection of its launch platforms. In addition, the possibility that Russia and North Korea Expand your cooperation military generates a serious concern for the United States, South Korea (and Japan), which could face a more sophisticated and difficult threat to counteract in the coming years. Although there are still doubts about the real ability of North Korea to complete a project of these characteristics without foreign assistance, the growing relationship with Moscow suggests that the Kim Jong-un regime could be closer than ever to achieve that strategic weapon that gives it greater deterrence of deterrence (and extortion) in the global geopolitics. Image | Korean Central … Read more

In 1958 France approved a nuclear plan to defend itself without the US. Russia has turned the plan into a reality for Europe

by

It happened in 1958, but now it cannot be more relevant. Then, General Charles de Gaulle had a vision of the need for France to maintain some strategic dependence by launching the Nuclear deterrence policy Sovereign, a kind of nuclear umbrella arguing that, although the United States was an ally, its interests may not always coincide with those of Europe. It has spent more than half a century and, suddenly, the continent has set the French nuclear doctrine against American uncertainty. The possible extension of the shield. It was French president Emmanuel Macron who He raised the possibility to associate French nuclear deterrence with the defense of other European countries. Although its ad It could explicitly spread To other nations. In this regard, the French Defense Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, reiterated that the nuclear arsenal will remain completely Frenchunder the only authority of the president. However, the key issue is whether France could assume a more active role in the continent nuclear defense. The (in) definition. Historically, French nuclear doctrine has been ambiguous with the threat of a massive response if France’s “vital interests” were in danger. However, these interests have never been defined precisely. From the presidency of De Gaulle, France has suggested that some European countries were already de facto, Under your protection. In fact, in 1964 De Gaulle declared that a Soviet attack against Germany could be interpreted as a threat to France. We remember that France and the United Kingdom are the only European nations with nuclear weapons. France counts With almost 300 eyeletsdeployed in airplanes and submarines, while the United Kingdom has approximately 250. Thus, there is a crucial difference: France maintains total independence in the development and operation of its arsenal, while the United Kingdom depends on US technology. Europe thinks about it. Actually, what has really changed in this debate is not the French proposal, but the attitude of the rest of Europe. Until recent United States and NATO. This idea has jumped through the air with the second mandate of Donald Trump, added to his current rhetoric of reduce military support To Europe, which has generated a change of perspective. Countries Like Germany They have seriously considered the option of a European nuclear shield. Moreover, the next German chancellor Friedrich Merz, surprised his allies by suggesting that it was time to open a dialogue with France and the United Kingdom about the possibility of reinforcing European nuclear deterrence. Scenarios for the alleged nuclear shield. Analysts have become more or less according to the time of summarize the options. There is talk of a deployment of French airplanes with nuclear weapons in other countries, Like Germany or Poland. The decision to use them would continue to be in the exclusive hands of the French president, but his presence would send a disjection message. Also of patrol of French nuclear bombers in European borders, as they do in French airspace, and the creation of air bases in other European countries, allowing a rapid deployment of French nuclear forces in case of crisis. The importance of eyelets. We would say that key for obvious reasons. The number of eyelets is a crucial factor. As we said, France has 300 nuclear heads, and together with The 250 of the United Kingdomthe total number would reach 550. The problem: which is significantly lower than Russian Arsenalwhich exceeds approximately 6,000 eyelets (the majority in reserve), although it is often clarified that the deterrence does not depend only on the amount of weapons, but on the credible and fast response capacity. Another aspect under discussion is if France should modify its nuclear doctrine to explicitly include the defense of its European allies within its “vital interests”. Some analysts argue that maintaining strategic ambiguity is part of the deterrence itself, but others argue that a clear statement of commitment would strengthen trust among European allies. The Russian threat. Although France has M51 missilescapable of reaching Moscow and other great Russian cities with enormous destructive power, Moscow’s ability to respond is, what is much greater. According to estimates in Russian media, a single Missile “Satan II” It could “atomize Paris In 200 seconds“, which underlines the risks of a direct confrontation. The problem lies, in addition, that Russia, given its geographical extension, could resist a prolonged nuclear exchange, while France lacks that strategic advantage. This asymmetry in the ability of mutual destruction raises doubts about the effectiveness of French deterrence in case of a conflict with Russia. If the “yes” occurs. In any case, what seems clear is that if France manages to expand its nuclear role within Europe with the support of the United Kingdom, this would represent a crucial step towards the strategic autonomy of the EU. The deployment of combat aircraft with nuclear capacity in Eastern Europe would not only strengthen the defense of the continent, but would send a clear political sign of unity and determination to Russia. It would be to see, of course, what would be Moscow’s reaction. Image | James Vaughan In Xataka | Europe rescues an old plan to defend Ukraine without a third World War: Sky Shield and its 120 combat planes In Xataka | Ukraine will lose his most powerful weapon in the US. That will give Russia an unprecedented advantage: attack more than 30 kilometers

The first person who made a crucial demonstration in nuclear physics was a Chinese woman from the 50s

by

In the 50s of the last century China was a very different country from the current one. He Chinese Communist Party Led by Mao Zedong he had defeated the nationalists who made up the Kuomintang After almost three decades of armed conflict. Imperial power He had disappeared and the country had embarked on very deep structural changes that culminated in the birth of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. The members of the Kuomintang retired to Taiwan that same year and left the land clear to the complex social, political and economic transformation that Mao Zedong had already pergeated. The new regime had erected on communist principles with the purpose of leaving behind many centuries of a feudal organization that had drastically limited the country’s development capacity. The problem was that their foundational tools were A strong ideological control and an aggressive political repression that did not admit any kind of opposition. So China was an eminently agricultural country that desired to modernize and go The same path of industrialization in which they had many decades plunged other nations, such as the United Kingdom, the USA, France, Belgium or Germany. The Mao government launched a very ambitious agrarian reform that pursued agricultural production and increase its efficiency. In this context, scientific development was an important part of its progressive strategy, but was subordinated to the ideological and political principles of the communist regime. This was not at all the ideal culture broth to flourish a young China passionate about science. And much less for nuclear physics. But he did. Chien-Shiung Wu had everything against him At the beginning of the 20th century, most women in China did not have the slightest opportunity to study. But Chien-Shiung Wu was special. He was born in 1912 in the province of Jiangsu, and when he was barely five or six years old, his parents realized that she was a very intelligent girl who was endowed with a curiosity and improper cunning of such a young person. Fortunately for her, her parents appreciated the value of education despite how difficult it was to a relatively humble family to access it. Wu was given mathematics and physics. He highlighted so much from his youth in these scientific disciplines that he managed to access higher physics studies in The prestigious Central National University (It is currently known as Nankín University). It is important that we do not overlook that at the beginning of the 30s of the 30s of the last century China was, as we have seen, a fundamentally agricultural country that was mired in the revolutionary seizure triggered by the disappearance of imperial power. In this social and political context it was very difficult for a woman to get access to university studies. And it was even more unlikely to stand out in a scientific career. But Chien-Shiung Wu did it. He graduated in Physics in 1934, and two years later he decided to travel to the US to complete his training. His extraordinary academic curriculum helped him be admitted at the University of California in Berkeley under the supervision of Ernest Lawrence, The inventor of the cyclotronand in 1940 he obtained his doctorate in Physics. From this moment on, a meteoric career began as a researcher specialized in gamma ray emission in particular, and in nuclear physics in general. Its domain of nuclear spectroscopy, a technique that serves to study the behavior of atomic nuclei observing the radiation they emit or absorbwas the presentation card that caused it to be signed by the Radiation Laboratory of the University of California. And shortly after, already in the middle of World War II, he participated in the Manhattan project as part of the Delegation of the University of Columbia (New York). His extraordinary academic curriculum helped him be admitted at the University of California in Berkeley under the supervision of Ernest Lawrence, the inventor of the cyclotron A good part of her professional career ran in this last institution as a researcher and starting professor, and during her early years at Columbia University was highly appreciated by other teachers and physics students for which she was her greatest contribution to the Manhattan project: The development of separation technology of uranium isotopes. However, their achievements had just begun. And it is that the work for which it has definitely gone into the history of physics came, as we have advanced in the head of this article, during the 50s. Wu has gone down in his experiments in nuclear physics In 1956 Chien-Shiung Wu designed a very ingenious experiment using cobalt-60 cooled to an extremely low temperature. Its purpose was to study whether electrons emitted in the presence of a magnetic field of great intensity are distributed asymmetrically, as theoretical physicists had hypothesized Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang, with which it collaborated. His experiment worked correctly, allowing WU to demonstrate that the emitted electrons During the disintegration process They were preferably dismissed in one direction. And not in a symmetrical way, as physicists believed so far. Wu’s experiment played a crucial role in the concession in 1957 of the Nobel Prize in Physics to the Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen None theorists This test has gone into the history of science as “the experiment of rape of Wu’s parity.” Its importance lies in its ability to demonstrate that in weak nuclear interaction, which is the fundamental force responsible for some atomic processes, such as, for example, Beta disintegration, Symmetry is not fulfilled. If we express it in this way it may not seem important, but it is. It is very important knowledge. In fact, he not only supported the theory of Beta Disintegration of Enrico Fermi; Without him, physicists would not have been able to elaborate the theories that currently shape the Standard model of particle physics. Wu’s experiment played a crucial role in the concession in 1957 of the Nobel Prize in Physics to Lee and Yang. Many scientists consider that the right thing … Read more

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.