Tag: nuclear weapons
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You Thought That Was All China Was Doing in Its Western Deserts?
Yesterday I wrote about some new ICBM silos China is building in its western desert. These things clearly interest me and so I was doing a little more digging when I found this even more recent article, this one from the BBC about an entirely different ICBM silo field that China is building in another…
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It’s the Big Things That’ll Kill You
We can move from the microscopic things that will kill us to the very big things that will kill us. Nuclear missiles. Because satellite photography from late June indicated that China is presently building over 100 ICBM silos in its western deserts. China has long had nuclear weapons, but has also long kept its arsenal…
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Missile Defence Systems
North Korea tested another missile yesterday. And while we do not have the precise details, I happened to come across this video from the New York Times exploring the different means by which the United States defends against missile threats. It makes use of some nice illustrations and motion graphics to explain ballistic missiles and…
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The Mother Of All Bombs
Yesterday the United States dropped a GBU.43 on a cave complex in eastern Afghanistan. The bomb is better known by its nickname MOAB, Mother Of All Bombs. But just how does the GBU.43 compare to some of the more common—and not so common—weapons in the US arsenal? What we do know is that yesterday was…
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Types of Nuclear Weapons
When I was in high school I began to listen to music. To find music. To find artists. A guy who owned and operated the store next to where I worked recommended David Bowie, that guy whose songs I had heard on Philly’s classic rock radio stations. Back in those days we still had record…
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What to do With All the Nukes
Admittedly today’s piece fails to deliver on the data visualisation and information design spectrum. But I found it hilarious and apropos to this week’s content. Credit for the piece goes to Randall Munroe.
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Did North Korea Test a Hydrogen Bomb?
Yesterday we looked at the sites and timeline of nuclear weapons tests. Today, however, as we learn more about North Korea’s hydrogen bomb test, some are wondering whether it really was a hydrogen bomb or something else. After all, there are different ways to build the bomb. Some suggest North Korea tested an atom bomb…
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Enriching Uranium
This past weekend, the US and allies reached an agreement with Iran on the Iranian nuclear programme. In this graphic the Washington Post explains the several steps necessary to take uranium and make it useful for a reactor, a research reactor, and nuclear weapons. Admittedly, a simplified diagram, but still quite useful. Credit for the…
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Testing the Atom Bomb
The Washington Post looked at the testing of the first atomic bomb at White Sands. Nuclear weapons are a topic on which I have done some work in the past. But this piece looks more at the historic test called Trinity. Credit for the piece goes to Alberto Cuadra and Laris Karklis.