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☆ Kyiv says Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant switched to reserve power line
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A Russian service member stands guard at a checkpoint near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant before the arrival of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict outside Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, June 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File... Read moreKYIV, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant again lost connection to its last remaining main external power line overnight and was switched to a reserve line, state-owned power generating company Energoatom said on Thursday. Energoatom said Europe's largest nuclear power plant was on the verge of a blackout as the reserve line had less than half the power capacity of the main power line. The Zaporizhzhia plant with its six reactors has been controlled by the Russian military since the early days of Moscow's invasion in February 2022. 6 to a 'hot shutdown' state is being considered."

Persons: Alexander Ermochenko, Read, Energoatom, Olena Harmash, Angus MacSwan Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, REUTERS, Zaporizhzhia NPP, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia, Russian, KYIV

Siamak Namazi, left, a U.S. citizen who has been held prisoner in Iran for nearly eight years, with his father, Baquer Namazi. The U.S. government has identified three American citizens held in Iran — Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz. NBC News first reported on the prisoner exchange negotiations in February. The families of the Americans held in Iran say their loved ones are "hostages" taken captive on false charges and used as bargaining chips by the government. And Siamak Namazi has been held prisoner in Iran for nearly eight years, longer than any of the other current American detainees.

Persons: Siamak Namazi, Baquer Namazi, Barack Obama, Emad, Shahab Dalili, Jared Genser, Namazi, Joe Biden, Obama, Biden, Donald Trump, Tahbaz, Shargi, Baquer, Robert Levinson, Levinson, Bob Levinson Organizations: NBC, Administration, NBC News, International Atomic Energy Agency, U.S, Congress, British, Tufts, Rutgers, FBI, CIA Locations: U.S, Iran, Tehran, Washington, Qatar, South Korea, United States, Israel, Iranian American, Iranian, Iran's

☆ US scientists trying to harness the power of the sun have made a 2nd major breakthrough for the future of sustainable, green energy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Why nuclear fusion is so important for global energy needsWe see the colossal power of nuclear fusion in action every day — the sun. Meaning that unlike fossil fuels, nuclear fusion doesn't contribute to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that are driving climate change. It was a major breakthrough and the first time a fusion experiment had ever generated an energy surplus. Why nuclear fusion beats nuclear fissionCurrent nuclear power plants use fission to make energy. While fission creates a chain reaction, nuclear fusion reactors of the future would not, avoiding the risk of a meltdown.

Persons: Energy Jennifer Granholm, Lawrence, Jason Laurea, Paul Rhien, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Arjun Makhijani, Daniel Jassby, Jassby Organizations: Service, International Energy Agency, Department of Energy, Energy, Ignition, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Financial Times, Manhattan, International Atomic Energy Agency, Scientists, Institute for Energy, Environmental Research, Princeton Plasma Physics Locations: Wall, Silicon, Lawrence Livermore, That's

☆ Japan to start Fukushima water release as early as late August, Asahi Shimbun reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Ventilation stacks and cranes at the disabled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant are seen from a beach in Namie, about 7 km away from the power plant, in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, February 28, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File PhotoTOKYO, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Japan plans to start releasing treated radioactive water from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean as early as late August, Japan's Asahi Shimbun daily reported on Monday, citing unnamed government sources. Japan's nuclear regulator last month granted approval for plant operator Tokyo Electric Power (9501.T) to start releasing the water - which Japan and the International Atomic Energy Agency say is safe but nearby countries fear it may contaminate food. Bottom trawling fishing is scheduled to start off Fukushima, northeast of Tokyo, in September, and the government aims to start the water discharge before the fishing season gets underway, the newspaper said. Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; editing by Diane CraftOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Fumio Kishida, Joe Biden, Yoon Suk, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Diane Craft Organizations: REUTERS, Asahi Shimbun, U.S, South, Tokyo Electric Power, International Atomic Energy Agency, Thomson Locations: Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, United States, Fukushima, Tokyo

☆ What happened when the Trinity test bomb detonated, from the creation of green glass to fallout that drifted over 1,000 miles
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Scientists set off the Trinity test atomic bomb on July 16, 1945. Base camp (9.5 miles away): Through his dark glass, Fermi had the impression the desert was suddenly brighter than day. Chupadera Mesa (30 miles away): Fallout rained on cattle near Chupadera Mesa, giving them serious beta burns, which appear similar to a sunburn. Over 1,000 miles away: In August 1945, Kodak customers complained that their X-ray film, sensitive to radiation, was ruined. The Trinity test fallout had reached the Midwest.

Persons: Trinity, McAllister Hull, Hans Courant, Enrico Fermi, Oppenheimer, Bruce Cameron Reed, Val Fitch, Warren Nyer, General Thomas F, Farrell, Fermi, Rabi, Campañia, Edward Teller, William Spindel, Hans Bethe, Leslie Groves's, Janet Farrell Brodie's, Lilli Hornig, Norris Bradbury, Fitch, Spindel, Hornig, Brodie, Schmidt, McDonald, Reed, sheepherder Jack Denton, Los Alamos Louis Henry Hempelmann, James L, Nolan Jr, Jennet Connet, Bingham, Chupadera, Nolan, Ruidoso, Henry Herrera, Sébastien Philippe, Susan Alzner, Gilbert P, Compo, Mason Grimshaw, Megan Smith, Julian Webb Organizations: Trinity, Service, Manhattan, National Security Research, Geographic, Atomic Energy, Hans, Atomic Heritage Foundation, Base, Manhattan Project, SED, Alamogordo Air Base, Alamos, McDonald, House, Fitch, Silver City, New York Times, Los Alamos, Centers for Disease Control, Princeton University, Consortium, Kodak, Princeton Locations: Wall, Silicon, New Mexico, Sandia, Amarillo , Texas, Albuquerque, Fitch, Los, Bingham, Chupadera Mesa, Nevada, Indiana, Canada, Mexico

☆ How a US government program advocated using nuclear explosions for construction, farming radioactive crops, and blasting holes in the moon
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Most focused on the potential for nuclear explosions to quickly excavate areas for construction projects at lower costs than conventional explosives. (Hamblin is the author of the book "The Wretched Atom: America's Global Gamble with Peaceful Nuclear Technology.") Fly the radioactive skiesUS officials also hoped nuclear energy could be used for transportation. Nicknamed the "pan-atomic canal," nuclear explosions would have carved a sea-level waterway through Nicaragua, Panama, or Colombia, per Forbes. Corbis via Getty ImagesFor Hamblin, the concept of "peaceful nuclear explosions" fell out of favor in the mid-70s.

Persons: Christopher Nolan's, Oppenheimer, Jacob Hamblin, Dwight D, Eisenhower, Alex Wellerstein, Hamblin, you've, Dr Leonard Reiffel, Alaska's Cape Thompson, Edward Teller, detonations, Rio, Iran —, —, Corbis, Wellerstein, Marshall, we're Organizations: Service, White, Nevada . U.S . Department of Energy Office, Scientific, Atomic Energy, UN, United Nations, IAEA Imagebank, United, US Atomic Energy Commission, Technology, Institute of Radiation, Google, NASA, Sputnik, Air Force, U.S . Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, AEC, of Energy, Popular Mechanics, New York Times, Carryall, US Department of Energy, Forbes, Atomic Energy Commission, Getty, IAEA Locations: Wall, Silicon, Suez, Nevada ., United Nations, New York, Hitachiomiya, Japan, Soviet Union, Nevada, Alaska's Cape, inconveniently, Israel, Panama, Nicaragua, Colombia, Pacific, Farmington , New Mexico, Rulison , Colorado, Rio Blanco, , Colorado, Iran, Mercury , Nevada, USA, Cuba, Vietnam, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada —, Marshall

☆ The FBI surveilled J. Robert Oppenheimer for months on one man's suggestion. During the surveillance, interviewees alleged he was feeding nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Sebastian Cahill | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The FBI watched J. Robert Oppenheimer for months after he helped make the WWII-ending atomic bomb. Reports from the FBI show Oppenheimer was accused of Communism and spreading information to Russia. During the investigation, though, Pitzer said he had new doubts about Oppenheimer's loyalty to the country, due to his initial reservations about the development of the H-bomb. The Atomic Heritage Foundation does consider Oppenheimer likely to have held communist sympathies, but maintains that information in the report was exaggerated. At the end of the inquest, Oppenheimer's top-level security clearances were revoked, a devastating blow to the scientist.

Persons: Robert Oppenheimer, Oppenheimer, J, Christopher Nolan's, Edgar Hoover, Lewis Strauss, Hoover, Strauss, Kenneth Pitzer, Pitzer, Ward Evans, Jean Tatlock, Bernard Peters, Oppenheimer's, Jennifer Granholm, Granholm, AHF Organizations: FBI, Congress, Service, US Atomic Energy, Los Alamos National Laboratory, UC, Loyola University , Chicago, Atomic Energy, German Communist Party, Atomic Heritage Foundation, USA, US, Department of Energy, DOE Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Soviet Union, UC Berkeley's

☆ A secret bomb and ruined film: Why the US government only told Kodak it was going to test nuclear bombs
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Maiya Focht | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Nuclear fallout from the Trinity Test damaged a batch of the Eastman Kodak Company's X-ray film. In the coming months, 1,111 miles to the northeast, physicists in the Eastman Kodak Company headquarters began following that trail. By testing the particles that settled in one of its manufacturing facilities, Kodak determined that they came from a nuclear bomb. They agreed to give Kodak advance notice of any nuclear testing in exchange for them dropping legal action. It took decades for the rest of the country and the world to find out about the dangers of nuclear fallout.

Persons: they'd, Kodak's, Julian Webb, Webb, Geiger, Sen, Tom Harkin Organizations: Trinity, Eastman Kodak Company's, Kodak, Service, New Mexico Army, Eastman Kodak Company, Atomic Scientists, Atomic Energy Commission, Lions, CDC, Trinity Test Kodak, Manhattan, Trinity Test, Manhattan Project, Corbis, AEC, National Cancer Institute, Iowa Locations: Wall, Silicon, New Mexico, Nevada, Vincennes , Indiana, Alamogordo , New Mexico, Indiana, Rochester , New York, The Rochester , New York, United States, Utah, Idaho

☆ Who was Lewis Strauss, the villain played by Robert Downey Jr. who tried to frame J. Robert Oppenheimer as a communist?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Sebastian Cahill | Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Lewis Strauss oversaw J. Robert Oppenheimer as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. Strauss used Oppenheimer's communist sympathies to begin stripping his security clearances. However, Strauss was the first to take serious action about Oppenheimer's Communist accusations. The film reenacts another instance when Strauss feels Oppenheimer slighted him — as Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein, played by Tom Conti, speak by a pond after Strauss offers Oppenheimer a prestigious job at the Institute for Advanced Study. Strauss also began a separate security proceeding with the AEC over Oppenheimer's alleged Communist ties, which resulted in his security clearances being suspended.

Persons: Lewis Strauss, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Strauss, Nolan's, Oppenheimer, Robert Downey Jr, J.Robert Oppenheimer, Herbert Hoover, Cillian Murphy, Murphy, Harry Truman, Eisenhower, Jean Tatlock, Florence Pugh, —, Albert Einstein, Tom Conti, Einstein, Edgar Hoover, surveilling Oppenheimer, Oppenheimer's, Hoover, William Liscum Borden, Nolan, David Dastmalchian, Downey, Christopher Nolan, Amadeus, that's, Mozart, Salieri, Emily Blunt, Kitty Organizations: Atomic Energy Commission, Service, US Navy, AEC, —, Manhattan Project, Institute for, FBI, Joint Atomic Energy, Commerce, Democrats, Rotten, The New York Times Locations: Wall, Silicon, West Virginia, Nolan's, Soviet Union, Canada

☆ Moviegoers have spotted a blooper in ‘Oppenheimer’
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

But eagle-eyed fans have spotted a mistake in a scene set in 1945, as Cillian Murphy’s J. Robert Oppenheimer stands among a crowd waving American flags – bearing the wrong number of stars. Universal Pictures“It was good and all, but I’ll be that guy and complain they used 50-star flags in a scene set in 1945,” Twitter user Andy Craig wrote on Friday. In 1945, the American flag featured 48 stars, as Alaska and Hawaii hadn’t yet become US states. But in another scene set in the same year, the correct American flag flies behind Oppenheimer. “Barbie called this in didn’t she,” another Twitter user joked, referencing the fact that “Oppenheimer’s” release date coincided with Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie.

Persons: Christopher Nolan’s, “ Oppenheimer, ”, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy, Andy Craig, Oppenheimer, McCarthy, “ Barbie, Greta Gerwig’s “ Barbie, ” “ Oppenheimer ”, Paul Dergarabedian, Dergarabedian Organizations: CNN, Universal, US Atomic Energy, Communist Party Locations: Alaska, Hawaii, didn’t

☆ Oppenheimer never won a Nobel Prize, but these 31 scientists with ties to the Manhattan Project did
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +26 min

Manhattan Project: After a harrowing escape from Nazi-occupied Denmark in 1943, Bohr began consulting on the Manhattan Project. Manhattan Project: Between 1943 and 1944, Muller was a civilian advisor for the Manhattan Project, consulting on experiments studying the effects of radiation. Maria Goeppert Mayer, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1963Maria Goeppert Mayer worked on the Manhattan Project and later won the Nobel Prize in physics. Manhattan Project: Working as an assistant to his father, Niels Bohr, Aage Bohr proved instrumental in interpreting for some members of the Manhattan Project. Manhattan Project: At 18, Glauber was still a student at Harvard when he became one of the youngest scientists to join the Manhattan Project.

Persons: Robert Oppenheimer, Alfred Nobel, Joseph Rotblat, Albert Einstein, Christopher Nolan's, Oppenheimer, Niels Bohr, Bohr, Nicholas Baker, Nick, James Franck, Boyer, Roger Viollet, Gustav Ludwig Hertz, Niels Bohr's, Franck, Arthur Compton, Imagno, Compton, Harold Urey, Harold, Urey, James Chadwick, Chadwick, Enrico Fermi, Fermi, Ernest Lawrence, Lawrence, Isidor Isaac Rabi, Nancy R, Schiff, Rabi, Hermann Muller, Muller, Edwin McMillan, Bettmann, Glenn Seaborg, McMillan, Elsie McMillan, Seaborg, Felix Bloch, Edward Purcell, Nobel, Hans Bethe, Bloch, Purcell, Emilio Segrè, Owen Chamberlain, Chamberlain, Segrè, Willard Libby, Leona Libby, Lowell, Libby, Linus Pauling, Leona Woods Marshall Libby, Eugene Wigner, Wigner, Leo Szilard's, Einstein, Franklin D, Roosevelt, Maria Goeppert Mayer, J, Hans Jensen, Goeppert Mayer, Teller, Richard Feynman, Tomonaga, Julian Schwinger, Fenynman, Hans Bethe's, Feynmwan, Feynman, Schwinger, Robert Mulliken, Mulliken, Szilard, Hans A, Bethe, Luis Alvarez, Alvarez, Enola Gay, Walter Alvarez, James Rainwater, Aage Bohr, Ben Mottelson, Rainwater, Wu, Aage Niels Bohr, Mottelson, mumbled, Val Fitch, James Cronin, Fitch, Jerome Karle, Isabelle, Larry Morris, Herbert Hauptman, Karle, Isabella Karle, Norman Ramsey, Ellie Welch, Ramsey, Norman Ramsey's Nobel, David Cheskin, Rotblat, Russell, Bertrand Russell, Enstinen, Frederick Reines, Philippe Caron, Sygma, Reines, Roy Glauber, Gail Oskin, Glauber Organizations: Manhattan Project, Service, Manhattan, US Army, AP, Getty, University of Chicago's Metallurgical Laboratory, Chicago Met, Los Angeles Examiner, USC, Columbia, Keystone, Gamma, Columbia University, University of Chicago, Trinity Test, University of California, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Hulton, Trinity, Deutsch, Los Alamos, University of Chicago's Metallurgical, Atomic Energy Commission, Harvard University, MIT Rad Lab, Denver, Chicago Met Lab, Materials Laboratory, Los, Radiation Laboratory, MIT, University of Chicago's, Princeton University, Naval Research Lab, Washington, US Naval Research Laboratory, Science, World Affairs, Einstein, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Harvard, Institute for Locations: Wall, Silicon, Polish, Denmark, Copenhagen, Nazi, London , Washington, Los Alamos, German, Germany, Japan, Manhattan, British, France, Washington, DC, Berkeley, Ridge , Tennessee, Los, New Mexico, Hanford, antiprotons, Hiroshima, Lowell Georgia, San Diego, Chicago, Washington ,

☆ New IAEA complaint about anti-personnel mines in Russian-held nuclear plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 24 (Reuters) - The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said on Monday it had found anti-personnel mines in an area of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine and complained for the second month running that this violated safety procedures. The plant, Europe's largest nuclear facility, was seized in the first days of Russia's invasion last year. "But having such explosives on the site is inconsistent with the IAEA safety standards and nuclear security guidance and creates additional psychological pressure on plant staff," Grossi said in a statement on the agency's website. Grossi had issued a similar warning about mines last month and on both occasions he suggested they posed no risk to the plant's security. In Monday's note he said his agency's initial assessment was that even if they exploded, "these mines should not affect the site's nuclear safety and security systems".

Persons: Rafael Grossi, Grossi, Ron Popeski, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow

☆ The science you should understand before seeing 'Oppenheimer'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Fission vs. fusionWhile fission and fusion are both key components of nuclear technology, the two processes are very different — and central to the plot of "Oppenheimer." The hydrogen bomb — promoted by Lewis Strauss, a member of the US Atomic Energy Commission — relies on fusion, making it far more powerful than the atomic bomb. Oppenheimer led a group of physicists who advocated for the United States to export radioactive isotopes to researchers abroad. However, Strauss pushed back while serving as chair of the US Atomic Energy Commission, advocating for a US monopoly on the materials. He argued that exporting them would be the equivalent of sharing nuclear information, an act forbidden by the 1946 Atomic Energy Act.

Persons: Christopher Nolan's, Oppenheimer, —, Earnest O, Lawrence, Radiochemists Otto Hahn, Fritz Strassman, Lise Meitner, Lewis Strauss, Strauss Organizations: Manhattan, Service, US Atomic Energy, US Atomic Energy Commission, 1946, Energy Locations: Wall, Silicon, Berlin, United States

☆ 'Oppenheimer' fact v. fiction: A nuclear historian breaks down what the movie got right and wrong
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

J. Robert Oppenheimer was an immensely complex figure, and the movie's based on a biography of him. Fact: Oppenheimer mocked Strauss about isotopesJ. Robert Oppenheimer testifies before the Senate in October 1945. Fact: A big thunderstorm delayed the Trinity TestOppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) stands next to the test bomb in "Oppenheimer." If it weren't for the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer would likely be best known for bolstering theoretical physics at the University of California, Berkeley. Fiction: Oppenheimer consulted Einstein about Teller's calculations(L-R) Tom Conti as Albert Einstein and Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in "Oppenheimer."

Persons: Christopher Nolan's, Oppenheimer, Robert Oppenheimer, J, Alex Wellerstein, Kai Bird, Martin Sherwin, Wellerstein, Niels Bohr wasn't, Patrick Blackett, Bird, Sherwin, Blackett, Niels Bohr, Ernest Rutherford, Bohr, Oppenheimer's, Cillian Murphy, Abraham Pais, Baudelaire, e.e, cummings, who's, Haakon Chevalier, Peter, Peter Oppenheimer, Kitty, Haakon, Barbara Chevalier, Robert, Perro, Werner Heisenberg, peppering Bohr, Heisenberg, Strauss, David Hill, Lewis Strauss, Dwight D, David Inglis, Inglis, I've, Arthur Compton, Trinity Test Oppenheimer, Jack Hubbard, Leslie Groves, Hubbard, Feynman, Richard Feynman, I'm, Groves, Robert Serber, David Bohm, Philip Morrison, Willis Lamb, Hitler, Hartland Snyder, Kip Thorne, John Wheeler, Roger Penrose, Penrose, Murphy, Trinity, there's, —, Karl T, Compton, Stimson, Henry Stimson, that's, Harry Truman, Wallenstein, Einstein, Tom Conti, Albert Einstein, Melinda Sue Gordon, Edward Teller, Hans Bethe, Enrico Fermi, Bethe, Roger Robb, He's, Teller, Stanislaw Ulam, Gordon Dean, Charlotte Serber, Charlotte Serber's, she's, Serber Organizations: Service, Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory, Stevens Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Eisenhower's, Federation of American Scientists, Time, Atomic Energy Committee, Trinity Test, Trinity, Los, University of California, Clovis, National Security Research, Manhattan Project . National Security Research, FBI Locations: Wall, Silicon, England, Leiden, Holland, New Mexico, Perro Caliente, Los Pinos , New Mexico, Germany, Nazi, Denmark, Sweden, Los Alamos, Europe, Berkeley, Poland, Amarillo , Texas, Japan, Kyoto, Alamos

☆ How Christopher Nolan recreated the Trinity Test atomic bomb explosion in 'Oppenheimer' without any CGI
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Maiya Focht | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" is about the Manhattan Project, and features an atomic bomb test. By using chemicals and layering clips while editing, they made a realistic atomic explosion. For Christopher Nolan's latest blockbuster, which follows the development and aftermath of the atomic bomb by following its creator, Robert J. Oppenheimer, Nolan chose not to use computer-generated imagery, or CGI. Cillian Murphy looks out the window at the simulated Trinity test while playing the titular role in Oppenheimer. A comparison between the prop bomb used in filming Oppenheimer [top] and the historic photo of the bomb used in the Trinity test [bottom].

Persons: Christopher Nolan's, Oppenheimer, he's, Robert J, Nolan, Scott Fisher, Cillian Murphy, Fisher, Andrew Jackson, Ruth De Jong, Jackson, It's Organizations: Manhattan, Service, Trinity Test, SYFY, Entertainment, Trinity, Universal Pictures, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Hollywood Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Who was J. Robert Oppenheimer? What you need to know before watching Christopher Nolan's biopic
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Caolán Magee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Director Christopher Nolan’s latest creation concerns an earlier existential threat, telling the story of the atomic bomb through the lens of its creator, J. Robert Oppenheimer – played by “Peaky Blinders” star Cillian Murphy. ullstein bild Dtl./ullstein bild/Getty ImagesWho was J. Robert Oppenheimer? Oppenheimer is widely considered the father of the atomic bomb. He quickly rose to prominence as an internationally renowned physicist, employed by the US government to create an atomic bomb to quell the threat of Nazi Germany. In the post-WWII era, as the world entered the Cold War, Oppenheimer was suspected by US intelligence of having ties with communists.

Persons: Oppenheimer ”, Christopher Nolan’s, J, Robert Oppenheimer –, “ Peaky, Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr, Kai Bird, Martin J, Sherwin’s Pulitzer, Robert Oppenheimer, ” Oppenheimer, Oppenheimer, Fotosearch, Adolf Hitler, Albert Einstein, Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner, Jennifer Granholm, ” Organizations: CNN, Trinity, Los Alamos National Laboratory, United States Atomic Energy Commission, Manhattan, Institute for, Study, Committee, Atomic Energy Commission, US Department of Energy, ” Locations: New York, Nazi Germany, New Mexico, Alamogordo , New Mexico, Germany, Los Alamos , New Mexico, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Princeton , New Jersey, Spanish

☆ UN Security Council meets for first time on AI risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] The U.N. Security Council holds a meeting on Artificial intelligence at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., July 18, 2023. "Both military and non-military applications of AI could have very serious consequences for global peace and security," Guterres said. Ambassador Zhang Jun described AI as a "double-edged sword" and said Beijing supports a central coordinating role of the U.N. on establishing guiding principles for AI. "No member states should use AI to censor, constrain, repress or disempower people," he told the council. Russia questioned whether the council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, should be discussing AI.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, James, Britain's, Antonio Guterres, Jack Clark, Zeng Yi, Guterres, U.N, Zhang Jun, Zhang, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, Dmitry Polyanskiy, Michelle Nichols, Aurora Ellis Organizations: . Security, REUTERS, Brendan McDermid UNITED NATIONS, United Nations Security Council, Britain's, U.N, China -, Research Center, AI, International Atomic Energy Agency, International Civil Aviation Organization, U.S, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, China, United States, Beijing, Russia

☆ Kai Bird on Christopher Nolan's ‘Oppenheimer’ - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Kai Bird | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Oppenheimer took the occasion to explain to Einstein that he was going to be absent from the Institute for some weeks. He was being forced to defend himself in Washington, D.C., during a secret hearing against charges that he was a security risk, and perhaps even disloyal. “He loved America,” said Verna Hobson, his secretary who was a witness to the conversation, “and this love was as deep as his love of science.”“Einstein doesn’t understand,” Oppenheimer told Ms. Hobson. But as Einstein walked back into his office he told his assistant, nodding in the direction of Oppenheimer, “There goes a narr [fool].”Einstein was right. Oppenheimer was foolishly subjecting himself to a kangaroo court in which he was soon stripped of his security clearance and publicly humiliated.

Persons: J, Robert Oppenheimer, Albert Einstein, Oppenheimer, Einstein, Oppenheimer “, ” Oppenheimer demurred, “, ”, Verna Hobson, ” Oppenheimer, Hobson, ” Einstein, Oppenheimer’s Organizations: Institute for, Study, Institute, Washington , D.C, Atomic Energy Locations: Princeton, N.J, Germany, Washington ,, America

☆ Vienna is crawling with Russian spies inviting sources to skiing holidays
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Vienna, Austria, has become the prime European city for spies, especially from Russia, to set up. Efforts by local politicians to ban spying have been met with delays as Russia's war continues. Austria has expelled only four Russian spies posing as diplomats, while neighbors equipped with more robust laws have expelled over 400 spies since the start of Russia's war, the Times reported. There are 180 accredited Russian diplomats in Vienna, and a third of them are assumed to be spies, per the report. Recently, Chinese, Saudi, Iranian and Israeli spies have also benefitted from the power vacuum in Vienna, the Times reported.

Persons: Vienna's, Egisto Ott, Gustav Gressel Organizations: Service, Times, International Atomic Energy Agency, Washington Post, European Council, Foreign Relations, Austrian, Green Locations: Vienna, Austria, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Russian, Germany, Saudi, Western

☆ Christopher Nolan and the ‘Oppenheimer’ cast discuss the atomic bomb and its chilling echoes today: ‘Humanity can only deal with one apocalypse at a time’
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Thomas Page David Daniel | Thomas Page | David Daniel | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

It would have seemed inconceivable then, but the atomic bomb did fade out of mind. And it’s precisely at this moment that Christopher Nolan is asking audiences to look it soberly in the eye. As the name suggests, Nolan has taken on the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientific genius and conflicted godfather of the atomic bomb. Cillian Murphy as godfather of the atomic bomb J. Robert Oppenheimer in "Oppenheimer." But even if a war involving a nuclear power hadn’t erupted in Europe in 2022, Nolan believes “Oppenheimer” contains crossover anxieties.

Persons: CNN —, Dimitri, Stanley Kubrick’s, Strangelove, Christopher Nolan, ” Nolan, “ Oppenheimer, ”, Nolan, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer, –, Robert Oppenheimer ”, Kai Bird, Martin Sherwin, “, “ We’re, ” Murphy, McCarthy, Kitty, Emily Blunt, Jean Tatlock, Florence Pugh, Chris, Matt Damon, Leslie Groves, Spielberg, Ryan, ’, Chris Nolan, Robert Downey Jr, Lewis Strauss, Damon, it’s, ” Cillian Murphy, Melinda Sue Gordon, Universal Pictures Nolan, Murphy, Universal Pictures Kubrick, There’s, ” Downey, Knight ”, there’s, ” “ Oppenheimer ” Organizations: CNN, Manhattan, U.S . Atomic Energy Commission, Universal Pictures, Los Alamos, Manhattan Project, Trinity Locations: Cambridge, Russia, Ukraine, New Mexico, Europe

☆ UN Security Council to hold first talks on AI risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council will hold its first formal discussion on artificial intelligence (AI) this week in New York, with Britain to call for an international dialogue about its impact on global peace and security. Governments around the world are considering how to mitigate the dangers of emerging AI technology, which could reshape the global economy and change the international security landscape. Britain holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council this month and has been seeking a global leadership role in AI regulation. In June, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres backed a proposal by some artificial intelligence executives for the creation of an international AI watchdog body like the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Reporting by William James Editing by Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: James, Antonio Guterres, William James, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: United Nations Security, UN Security, British, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: New York, Britain, U.N

☆ Scientists are growing seeds in space to help adapt to climate change on Earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Nadia Leigh-Hewitson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Agriculture is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of changing climate conditions and although changes to temperature, rainfall patterns, and frost might extend a growing season or enable the cultivation of different crops, climate change also introduces major challenges for farming. Shoba Sivasankar examines sorghum seeds that spent around five months at the International Space Station . K. Laffan/IAEABy selectively breeding plants grown from the mutated seeds, Sivasankar and her team hope to create new crop strains. The private sector has also taken an interest in the impact of spaceflight on plant seeds. StarLab Oasis plans to grow seeds on external docking platforms at space stations, shown here in a rendering Nanoracks/Starlab OasisSending seeds to space will help “sustainability, climate change, and food security on Earth,” StarLab Oasis’ co-founder Allen Herbert told CNN in 2022.

Persons: Shoba Sivasankar, ”, “, StarLab, Allen Herbert Organizations: CNN, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Agriculture Organization, FAO, International Space, of, Food, Agriculture, Space, Michigan State University, MSU, United Arab Emirates, StarLab Oasis, Oasis Locations: China, Abu Dhabi

London/Hong Kong CNN —The European Union has lifted all import restrictions on food, including fish, produced near the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan just as Tokyo prepares to release treated radioactive wastewater into the ocean. The bloc’s move follows positive results from tests carried out on the products by the Japanese authorities and EU member states, the European Commission said in a statement Thursday. After the Fukushima plant melted down in 2011 following an earthquake and tsunami, the EU restricted food imports from 10 prefectures in Japan and started requiring pre-export tests on food products for radioactivity. It has since regularly reviewed the measures and progressively eased them “as risks declined,” the European Commission said. On Wednesday, Hong Kong, one of the world’s top buyers of Japan’s fish, said it would ban seafood imports from 10 prefectures in the country if Tokyo pressed ahead with the wastewater release.

Persons: “, Ursula von der Leyen, — Mohammed Tawfeeq Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, European, European Commission, International Atomic Energy Agency, ” Locations: Hong Kong, Japan, Tokyo, United States, South Korea, China, Fukushima, Atlanta

☆ Fukushima wastewater: Hong Kong poised to ban Japanese seafood over treated water
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —Hong Kong, one of the world’s biggest buyers of Japanese fish, says it will ban seafood imports from 10 prefectures in the country if Tokyo presses ahead with its plan to release treated radioactive water from Fukushima into the sea. Japanese food is hugely popular in Hong Kong, which has more than 2,000 Japanese restaurants. The move comes less than a week after Beijing announced a similar ban on Japanese seafood exports to mainland China, citing concerns over health and safety. Customers wait to get into Japanese sushi chain Sushiro in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, on July 13, 2023. The 10 prefectures facing a seafood ban are Tokyo, Fukushima, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gumma, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, he said.

Persons: Tse Chin, Let’s, ” Tse, Chris Lau, Tse, ”, “, Rafael Grossi, Fumio Kishida, Grossi, Sandy Yu, Timothy Lo Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Beijing, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, CNN, Hong, South, UN, HK Locations: Hong Kong, Tokyo, Fukushima, Japan, China, South Korea, United States, Causeway Bay, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gumma, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano, Saitama, Hong, Causeway

July 13 (Reuters) - High river temperatures that look set to restrict power output at two French nuclear plants that use river water to cool reactors may trigger increased fossil fuel-fired power output elsewhere due to Europe's extensive regional power trading. French power system in hot waterIn turn, any increased output from fossil fuel-fired power plants will likely lift regional power sector emissions, undermining regional efforts to accelerate cuts to all forms of industrial pollution. France is also Europe's second largest electricity generator behind Germany, producing roughly 470 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity in 2022, compared to Germany's 582TWh, and 324TWh by Europe's third largest generator, the United Kingdom. France's high proportion of non-emitting nuclear power means that its power sector has by far the lowest carbon intensity of any major European economy, averaging around 85 grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour of electricity produced. That compares to more than 385 grams in Germany, 257 in the United Kingdom, and 300 for Europe as a whole, Ember data shows.

Persons: Germany's 582TWh, Gavin Maguire, Jamie Freed Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, EDF, RTE, Reuters, Thomson Locations: France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Ember, Europe, Belgium, Luxembourg

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