Hacker News with Generative AI: Nuclear Weapons

Vasily Arkhipov (wikipedia.org)
Vasily Aleksandrovich Arkhipov (Russian: Василий Александрович Архипов, IPA: [vɐˈsʲilʲɪj ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ arˈxʲipəf], 30 January 1926 – 19 August 1998) was a senior Soviet Naval officer who prevented a Russian submarine from launching a nuclear torpedo against ships of the United States Navy at a crucial moment in the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962.

Cold War, History, Military, Nuclear Weapons, Russia

3 points by tempestn 22 hours ago | 0 comments

Russian ballistic missile attack on Ukraine portends new era of warfare (arstechnica.com)
Two days ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a change in the country's policy for employing nuclear weapons in conflict. Then, on Thursday, Russia attacked the Ukrainian city of Dnipro with a new type of ballistic missile capable of one day delivering multiple nuclear warheads to distant targets with little warning.

Russia, War, Military Technology, Nuclear Weapons, Ukraine

10 points by burnt-resistor 11 days ago | 3 comments

DoD Adjusts Nuclear Deterrence Strategy as Nuclear Peer Adversaries Escalate (defense.gov)
Multiple nuclear peer adversaries challenge the U.S. and its allies' and partners' security, according to the Defense Department.

Nuclear Weapons, Military Strategy, International Relations, Geopolitics

13 points by ironyman 11 days ago | 17 comments

First Ever Recorded Use of ICBM in War (funker530.com)

War, Military, History, Nuclear Weapons

12 points by seanw444 12 days ago | 17 comments

The meme-ification of the “Demon Core” (doomsdaymachines.net)
On May 21, 1946, the Canadian physicist Louis Slotin was demonstrating to several other Los Alamos scientists how to do a criticality experiment.

Physics, History, Nuclear Weapons

399 points by SaberTail 13 days ago | 288 comments

Zelensky's nuclear option: Ukraine 'months away' from bomb (thetimes.com)

Ukraine, Nuclear Weapons, War, International Relations, Politics

14 points by wslh 20 days ago | 22 comments

An unearthly spectacle – The untold story of the biggest nuclear bomb (2021) (thebulletin.org)
In the early hours of October 30, 1961, a bomber took off from an airstrip in northern Russia and began its flight through cloudy skies over the frigid Arctic island of Novaya Zemlya. Slung below the plane’s belly was a nuclear bomb the size of a small school bus—the largest and most powerful bomb ever created.

Nuclear Weapons, History, Russia, Cold War

92 points by arethuza 20 days ago | 154 comments

The Great American Nuclear Weapons Upgrade (undark.org)
In the plains of western South Dakota, about 25 miles northeast of Mount Rushmore, the Ellsworth Air Force Base is preparing to receive the first fleet of B-21 nuclear bombers, replacing Cold War-era planes.

Military, Nuclear Weapons, Technology, Politics, United States

7 points by EA-3167 29 days ago | 0 comments

America Is Updating Its Nuclear Weapons. The Price: $1.7T (nytimes.com)
The U.S. military says America’s nuclear arsenal is outdated and unable to keep up with our adversaries’ modern weapons.

Military, Nuclear Weapons, Politics, United States

20 points by tysone 50 days ago | 0 comments

Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 awarded to Nihon Hidankyo (nobelprize.org)
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 to the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo. This grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha, is receiving the Peace Prize for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.

Nobel Prize, Peace, Nuclear Weapons, Japan, Activism

290 points by danielskogly 53 days ago | 357 comments

America Is Updating Its Nuclear Weapons. The Price: $1.7T (nytimes.com)
The U.S. military says America’s nuclear arsenal is outdated and unable to keep up with our adversaries’ modern weapons.

Military, Nuclear Weapons, Politics, United States

11 points by sherilm 54 days ago | 25 comments

First Plutonium Pit for Nuclear Warhead Produced in the US in 35 Years Now Ready (twz.com)
The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has announced the completion of the first weapon-ready example of a vital component for the W87-1 warhead.

Nuclear Weapons, Weapons Technology, National Security, United States

12 points by peutetre 59 days ago | 2 comments

How to Disable a Nuclear Warhead in Midflight (ieee.org)
In 1956 Henry Kissinger speculated in Foreign Affairs about how the nuclear stalemate between the United States and the Soviet Union could force national security officials into a terrible dilemma.

Nuclear Weapons, International Relations, History

32 points by cyberlimerence 65 days ago | 10 comments

Putin outlines new rules for Russian use of nuclear arsenal (aljazeera.com)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia could respond with nuclear weapons if it were attacked with conventional arms in the latest changes to the country’s nuclear doctrine.

Nuclear Weapons, Russia, Politics, International Relations, War

6 points by donsupreme 67 days ago | 0 comments

New Chinese nuclear attack submarine sank, U.S. officials says (cbsnews.com)
Satellite imagery showed that China's newest nuclear-powered attack submarine sank alongside a pier while under construction, a U.S. military official confirmed to CBS News on Thursday.

Military, China, Nuclear Weapons, Submarine, Accidents

18 points by howard941 67 days ago | 0 comments

China's newest nuclear submarine sank in dock, US officials confirm (theguardian.com)
China’s efforts to achieve maritime military parity with the US have suffered a serious blow after its newest state-of-the-art nuclear submarine sank in a dock, American officials have confirmed.

China, Military, Submarines, Nuclear Weapons, International Relations

27 points by geox 68 days ago | 11 comments

Blast wakes ghosts of nuclear past (1995) (newscientist.com)

Nuclear Weapons, History, Accidents

13 points by r721 72 days ago | 1 comments

Alarm in UK and US over possible Iran-Russia nuclear deal (theguardian.com)
Britain and the US have raised fears that Russia has shared nuclear secrets with Iran in return for Tehran supplying Moscow with ballistic missiles to bomb Ukraine.

International Relations, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, Iran, Ukraine

7 points by xkcd1963 79 days ago | 5 comments

Alarm in UK and US over possible Iran-Russia nuclear deal (theguardian.com)
Britain and the US have raised fears that Russia has shared nuclear secrets with Iran in return for Tehran supplying Moscow with ballistic missiles to bomb Ukraine.

International Relations, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, Iran, Ukraine

4 points by howard941 80 days ago | 0 comments

Two Students Built an A-Bomb (2003) (theguardian.com)

Nuclear Weapons, Education, History, Security

5 points by dmitrygr 88 days ago | 3 comments

Did Sandia use a thermonuclear secondary in a product logo? (nuclearsecrecy.com)
I happened to look at a slide deck from Sandia National Laboratories from 2007 that someone had posted on Reddit late last night (you know, as one does, instead of _sleeping_), and one particular slide jumped out at me:

Nuclear Weapons, History

660 points by terryf 88 days ago | 206 comments

China study says nuclear warheads are best hope to save humanity from asteroids (scmp.com)

China, Space, Asteroids, Nuclear Weapons, Science

3 points by giuliomagnifico 97 days ago | 0 comments

The guidance system and computer of the Minuteman III nuclear missile (righto.com)

Military, Nuclear Weapons, Technology, Missiles

272 points by magnat 106 days ago | 175 comments

America prepares for a new nuclear-arms race (economist.com)

Nuclear Weapons, International Relations, United States

25 points by worstspotgain 109 days ago | 61 comments

My Trial as a War Criminal (By Leo Szilard, Inventor of Nuclear Chain Reaction) (wikipedia.org)