Touring Trinity, the Birthplace of Nuclear Dread
The New York Times
A recent visit the site of the first atomic bomb explosion offered desert vistas, (mildly) radioactive pebbles and troubling reflections.
TRINITY SITE, N.M. — Once, in another lifetime, I witnessed an atomic explosion. This was in the 1960s at the Nevada Test Site, a vast area about an hour northwest of Las Vegas where the American military tested bombs. I was working for EG&G, a military contracting company that, among other atomic chores, supplied all the instrumentation for the test site; it is now part of a company called Amentum. My job, to study the effects of nuclear explosions on the atmosphere, was sufficient to keep me out of the Vietnam War draft. Cabriolet, as the test was called, contained the force of 2,300 tons of TNT. Detonated hundreds of feet underground, it was louder than I thought anything could ever be. The ground bulged, and a line of torches marking ground zero flew into the air. From a shaking trailer four miles away, my boss and I filmed tongues of fire erupting from the earth and congealing into an elephant-shaped cloud of dust that drifted off in the general direction of Montana. Those were heady days in the atomic business, when people thought they could build harbors in a few microseconds of fury, or dig a new Panama Canal overnight in a domino of blasts, or even propel spaceships. Cabriolet was part of the Plowshare Program, which looked for peaceful civilian uses of nuclear explosions. Turns out all they are good for is terror.
The findings showed the highest mortality occurred among infants who were Black, lived in Southern states or had fetal birth defects.
As Lanzhou beef noodle soup goes from regional specialty to global attraction, I set out to find the best bowls in New York City.
As of Tuesday, 22 children and two adults had been infected, all of whom were unvaccinated, local officials said.
It’s the most energetic particle of its kind ever discovered, and scientists have no idea where it came from.
This 30-minute recipe for “Marry Me Salmon” feels special but is easy enough for a weeknight.
The internet erupted in controversy over Felisa Wolfe-Simon and colleagues’ claim of a microbe thriving on arsenic. Nearly 15 years later, she’s pursuing new research on the boundaries of life.
Once thought of as a byproduct of collard greens, brothy, complex potlikker takes on new life as a wonderful base for a Japanese staple.
The new research adds to the mysteries of the planet’s deepest interior region.
The billionaire is leading a group of investors in the unsolicited offer, which complicates the start-up’s plan to raise more money.
At cardiology conferences and diabetes meetings, doctors can’t help noticing that thin seems to be very in.
President Trump’s executive order is altering scientific exploration across a broad swath of fields, even beyond government agencies, researchers say.
After helping President Trump get elected, Elon Musk was poised to dominate the country’s A.I. policies. Then Mr. Altman sneaked into the White House.
Shock and grief rippled through the health community as lifelines for care were abruptly severed.