215 Items Tagged

Nuclear

The 1957 Stokes test, of a 19-kiloton weapon, in Nevada.

Deep in the Ocean’s Trenches, The Legacy of Nuclear Testing Lives

The discovery of "bomb carbon" miles below the surface shows how deep human impact goes.

Jonathan Carey May 14, 2019

Concrete debris found in the woods of Popes Head Park.

Fairfax, Virginia

Fairfax Nike Missile Site

A lone historical marker off the highway and scattered debris are all that remain of this Cold War-era missile site.

The Ferris wheel in Pripyat’s Luna Park was intended for a grand opening on May 1, 1986. That ceremony never came, and now fresh trees have broken through the surrounding tarmac.

The City the Chernobyl Disaster Left Behind, Then and Now

Archival images of Pripyat before the accident offer a stunning contrast to what visitors will find today.

Darmon Richter May 3, 2019

George Street entrance to the Guardian Telephone Exchange.

Manchester, England

Guardian Telephone Exchange Tunnels

This nondescript building hides an entrance to an underground nuclear tunnel system.

The city of Pripyat was an atomgrad—atomic city—built to house the technicians and workers at plant and their families. By April 1986, the town had a population of almost 50,000, but was small enough that it could be crossed on foot in 15 minutes.

Life in Pripyat Before, And the Morning After, the Chernobyl Disaster

When the scale of a tragedy dawned.

Adam Higginbotham April 22, 2019

New Orleans, Louisiana

Civil Defense Control Center

An abandoned underground bunker not far from downtown New Orleans.

If humans go extinct, mushrooms may rule the world.

This Engineer Is Preparing to Feed a World Without Sunlight

How do you feed eight billion people during a nuclear winter?

Reina Gattuso February 19, 2019

Reactor Instituut Delft.

Delft, Netherlands

Reactor Institute Delft

A nuclear reactor created for Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" campaign is now used for research at a Dutch university.

The unfinished nuclear power plant in Crimea.

The Nuclear Power Plant in Crimea That Chernobyl Stopped Dead

It has had a second life as a photogenic, atmospheric ruin.

Sarah Laskow September 17, 2018

A view of the Castleton Cold War Bunker looking towards the narrow bunk-bed.

Descend Into Great Britain’s Network of Secret Nuclear Bunkers

And meet the determined enthusiast bringing them back to life.

Kate Ravilious September 11, 2018

The B-1 Flat Top at the American Museum of Science and Energy.

Oak Ridge, Tennessee

B-1 Flat Top in Oak Ridge

One of the Cemestos prefab homes built to secretly house thousands of Manhattan Project workers.

The modern winemaking operation at Hedges Family Estate.

How the Chernobyl Disaster Sold Europe on Washington Wines

Nuclear tragedy created opportunity a world away.

Jonathan Kendall August 23, 2018

Nye County, Nevada

Project Faultless Site

The site of an underground detonation of a megaton nuclear bomb in the middle of the Mojave Desert.

From left: Workers lower the 5.3-kiloton bomb used in the Salmon test into the ground; The second bomb was set off in the cavity gouged out by the first test two years earlier.

In the 1960s, the U.S. Government Set Off a Pair of Nukes Under Mississippi

It’s a nearly forgotten chapter of Cold War history that seems hard to fathom today—even for those who were there.

Matt Smith August 15, 2018

A granite monument surrounded by test wells marks the site of the nuclear bomb tests in southern Mississippi, code-named Salmon and Sterling.

Lumberton, Mississippi

Salmon/Sterling Nuclear Tests Marker

This largely forgotten piece of Cold War history stands hidden in the woods just north of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Moody mushrooms form the eponymous cloud.

These Mushroom Clouds Are Made From Actual Mushrooms

A team of artists create horror out of fungi.

Anne Ewbank June 13, 2018

Permanently Closed

Redmond, Washington

Nike Nuclear Missile Site S-13/14

This Cold War missile launch site has been abandoned for 40 years.

Chernobyl's Reactor 4.

A Fire Has Broken Out at Chernobyl

Authorities are thus far unconcerned about radiation levels.

Cara Giaimo June 5, 2018