Weapons Technology News

April 19, 2024

Top Headlines

Measuring Neutrons to Reduce Nuclear Waste

Feb. 16, 2024 — Nuclear power is considered one of the ways to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, but how to deal with nuclear waste products is a concern. Radioactive waste products can be turned into more stable elements, but this process is not yet viable at ...

Astronomy Observation Instrument Used to Uncover Internal Structure of Atomic Nuclei

Feb. 13, 2024 — Researchers have used equipment originally intended for astronomy observation to capture transformations in the nuclear structure of atomic nuclei, reports a new ...

New Method to More Accurately Spot Underground Nuclear Tests

Feb. 7, 2024 — A more accurate way of identifying underground nuclear tests, including those conducted in secret, has been ...

Extracting Uranium from Seawater as Another Source of Nuclear Fuel

Dec. 13, 2023 — Oceans cover most of Earth's surface and support a staggering number of lifeforms, but they're also home to a dilute population of uranium ions. And -- if we can get these particular ions out of the water -- they could be a sustainable fuel source ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:49am EDT

AI for Astrophysics: Algorithms Help Chart the Origins of Heavy Elements

Mar. 13, 2024 — The origin of heavy elements in our universe is theorized to be the result of neutron star collisions, which produce conditions hot and dense enough for free neutrons to merge with atomic nuclei and ...

A Non-Proliferation Solution: Using Antineutrinos to Surveil Nuclear Reactors

Jan. 17, 2024 — Antineutrinos generated in nuclear fission can be measured to remotely monitor the operation of nuclear reactors and verify that they are not being ...

Ancient Stars Made Extraordinarily Heavy Elements

Dec. 7, 2023 — How heavy can an element be? An international team of researchers has found that ancient stars were capable of producing elements with atomic masses greater than 260, heavier than any element on the ...

Monitoring Nuclear Weapons Stockpiles With Radio Waves

Oct. 30, 2023 — Monitoring whether states are complying with disarmament treaties is not an easy task. An international team has been exploring remote monitoring with the help of two antennas and a couple of ...

Chi-Nu Experiment Ends With Data to Support Nuclear Security, Energy Reactors

Sep. 28, 2023 — The results of the Chi-Nu physics experiment at Los Alamos National Laboratory have contributed essential, never-before-observed data for enhancing ...

Groundbreaking Research Shows That the Limits of Nuclear Stability Change in Stellar Environments Where Temperatures Reach Billions of Degrees Celsius

Sep. 18, 2023 — New research is challenging the scientific status quo on the limits of the nuclear chart in hot stellar environments where temperatures reach ...

Keeping Time With an Atomic Nucleus

May 25, 2023 — Nuclear clocks could allow scientists to probe the fundamental forces of the universe in the future. Researchers have made a crucial advance in this area as part of an international ...

Engineers Discover a New Way to Control Atomic Nuclei as 'Qubits'

Feb. 15, 2023 — Researchers propose a new approach to making qubits, the basic units in quantum computing, and controlling them to read and write data. The method is based on measuring and controlling the spins of ...

Small Modular Reactor Waste Analysis Report

Nov. 21, 2022 — Small modular nuclear reactors, which offer greater flexibility and lower upfront cost than large nuclear reactors, have both some advantages and disadvantages when it comes to nuclear waste ...

Protein That Could Prevent Chemical Warfare Attack Created

Sep. 1, 2022 — A novel protein design could lead to a new generation of defensive biosensors and treatments against weapons of mass ...

2D Array of Electron and Nuclear Spin Qubits Opens New Frontier in Quantum Science

Aug. 15, 2022 — By using photons and electron spin qubits to control nuclear spins in a two-dimensional material, researchers have opened a new frontier in quantum science and technology, enabling applications like ...

Blow Flies Can Be Used Detect Use of Chemical Weapons, Other Pollutants

Mar. 24, 2022 — A study suggests blow flies could be used to detect the use of chemical weapons -- as well as other dangerous substances -- in areas too dangerous or remote for human ...

How Prolonged Radiation Exposure Damages Nuclear Reactors

Nov. 8, 2021 — New research could help in boosting the efficiency of nuclear power plants in the near future. By using a combination of physics-based modeling and advanced simulations, they found the key underlying ...

Targeting Cancer at the Nanoscale

Oct. 19, 2021 — Researchers fabricate gold nanoparticles with a rapidly decaying radioisotope that can be internalized by cancer cells. Because the radiation remains strongly localized, high doses can be ...

Smoke from Nuclear War Would Devastate Ozone Layer, Alter Climate

Oct. 13, 2021 — The massive columns of smoke generated by a nuclear war would alter the world's climate for years and devastate the ozone layer, endangering both human health and food supplies, new research ...

To Find Sterile Neutrinos, Think Small

Oct. 12, 2021 — Experiments have spotted anomalies hinting at a new type of neutrino, one that would go beyond the standard model of particle physics and perhaps open a portal to the dark sector. But no one has ever ...

Extending the Power of Attosecond Spectroscopy

Sep. 29, 2021 — Scientists have shown that the powerful transient absorption spectroscopy technique can unravel ultrafast motion of electrons and nuclei in a molecule in real time and with atomic spatial ...

Engineers Discover Way to Turn Organic Waste Into Renewable Biofuel Additives Using Radiation

Sep. 22, 2021 — The renewable proportion of petrol is set to increase to 20 per cent over the coming years, meaning the discovery of a new production pathway for these additives could help in the fight to cut carbon ...

An Experimental Loop for Simulating Nuclear Reactors in Space

Sep. 22, 2021 — Nuclear thermal propulsion, which uses heat from nuclear reactions as fuel, could be used one day in human spaceflight, possibly even for missions to Mars. Its development, however, poses a ...

Hydrogel Composite Developed to Help Protective Gear Rapidly Degrade Toxic Nerve Agents

July 14, 2021 — Scientists have developed a hydrogel integrated with zirconium-based robust metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that rapidly degrades organophosphate-based nerve agents used in chemical warfare. Unlike ...

Neutron-Clustering Effect in Nuclear Reactors Demonstrated

July 12, 2021 — The long-theorized neutron-clustering effect in nuclear reactors has been demonstrated, which could improve reactor safety and create more accurate simulations, according to a new ...

New Clues to Why There's So Little Antimatter in the Universe

July 7, 2021 — New research shows radioactive molecules are sensitive to subtle nuclear phenomena. The molecules might help physicists probe violation of the most fundamental symmetries of nature, including why the ...

From Fire to Dust: Plutonium Particles from British Nuclear Testing in Outback Australia More Complex Than Previously Thought

May 21, 2021 — More than 100 kg of highly toxic uranium (U) and plutonium (Pu) was dispersed in the form of tiny 'hot' radioactive particles after the British detonated nine atomic bombs in remote areas ...

Nuclear Terrorism Could Be Intercepted by Neutron-Gamma Detector That Pinpoints Source

May 19, 2021 — Scanning technology aimed at detecting small amounts of nuclear materials was unveiled by scientists in Sweden today, with the hope of preventing acts of nuclear ...