Post archives
Filtering for posts tagged with ‘1950s’
2012
February 2012
22
Redactions
The famous collaboration that led to the creation of the hydrogen bomb.
17
Visions
An obscure Soviet publication on nuclear weapons reveals differences in how different countries draw their atomic bombs.
10
Visions
A proto-NUKEMAP from 1950 tried to help industrialists assess their risk from atomic warfare.
8
Redactions
The story behind the broadcast of the first hydrogen bomb test -- two years after it happened.
January 2012
30
Meditations
A summary of a sticky historical issue: whether civilians or military personnel would physically control the atomic bomb.
23
Meditations
New nuclear tidbits from eight just-declassified secret transcripts of the Congressional committee charged with atomic oversight issues.
18
Redactions
On the agonizing compromises made when one brother is the country's top nuclear scientist, and the other is a former Communist Party member.
16
Meditations
Reflections on the use of assassination as a means of counter-proliferation, with insights from the history and sociology of science.
13
Visions
When Sandia found the casing of an old H-bomb in a classified landfill, they did the sensible thing: take photos of themselves with it.
2011
December 2011
30
Visions
The first secret briefing by Congress on the destructive power of the hydrogen bomb -- complete with disturbing maps, centered on the White House.
26
Meditations | Redactions
Describing my archival techniques, plus a document about the H-bomb's development.
24
News and Notes | Visions
Santa Claus gets searched and scrutinized by guards at the Oak Ridge Y-12 uranium enrichment facility, ca. 1950.
23
Meditations
Excerpts from previously-undigitized secret hearings of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy.
22
Redactions
The attempt by staffers on the Joint Committee of Atomic Energy to run-around the AEC while pushing for a second nuclear weapons lab.
21
Redactions
Edward Teller's (self-serving) version of the history of the hydrogen bomb, from 1953.
20
Meditations | Redactions
I discuss my archival techniques, plus showcase a curious memo about whether Ted Hall was a "second Fuchs" at Los Alamos.
16
Visions
In their quest for appearing serious about secrecy, the U.S. government has gotten increasingly dull in its graphics design.
12
Meditations
What was Dr. Strangelove's proposal for up-staging the Soviets after Sputnik? Shooting an atomic bomb at the moon. Seriously.
9
Visions
November 2011
30
21
Meditations
16
