background: an amount of artificial radionuclide has been released into the environment as fallout, resulting from atmospheric nuclear weapon tests, nuclear accidents such as chernobyl and together with air currents have polluted the world. materials and methods: 37 surface soil samples of tehran province were collected in the period between june and september 2008, by implementing methods and ...

It is scientifically and technically possible to build an earth penetrating device that could bury a B61-7 warhead 30 meters into concrete, or 150 meters into earth, before detonating it. The device (based on knowledge and technology that is available since 50 years) would however by large and cumbersome. Better penetrator materials, components able to withstand larger stresses, higher impact v...

In the mid-1950s, concern was increasing about the possible effects from the radioactive fallout resulting from nuclear weapon testing. Various scientists from non-nuclear countries such as Sweden and Canada made their politicians aware of the potential hazards of fallout. This concern went up to the General Assembly of the United Nations, which took the unique step of appointing a scientific c...

How does one prove a claim about a highly sensitive object such as a nuclear weapon without revealing information about the object? This paradox has challenged nuclear arms control for more than five decades. We present a mechanism in the form of an interactive proof system that can validate the structure and composition of an object, such as a nuclear warhead, to arbitrary precision without re...

OF THE NINE COUNTRIES known to have nuclear weapons, six are located in Asia and another, the United States, borders the Pacific Ocean. Russia and China were the first Asian nations with nuclear weapons, followed by Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea. Most of the world’s nuclear powers are reducing their arsenals or maintaining them at historic levels, but several of those in Asia—India, ...

In 1957, the Navy’s Special Projects Office approached APL for assistance in developing the Polaris Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) Strategic Weapon System. The primary task was to define and execute a comprehensive FBM test and evaluation program to validate the integrated weapon system design. The launch of Sputnik created a widespread view that a “missile gap” existed with the Soviet Union. In...

way to the United States to sign the INF Treaty in December 1987. The stop, made on Gorbachev's initiative, had both a practical and symbolic purpose. He had no aspiration to detach Thatcher from Reagan. Gorbachev knew that was impossible, and it would not have suited his purpose anyway. It was her closeness to Reagan that made her so helpful as an interlocutor. But Gorbachev would have looked ...

This article describes and assesses the security of transport radioactive nuclear material in Belgium that has been boosted after terrorist attacks Brussels 2016. The looks at different possibilities on transports possible consequences: theft for use a exposure device, dispersal or an improvised weapon; conventional attack transport, releasing radiation into environment. focus insider threat is...