Extraterrestrial Plutonium Atoms Turn Up on Ocean Bottom
The rare form of the element found on the Pacific seabed points to its violent birth in colliding stars.
The remnants of a supernova, center bottom in blue-green, near the Small Magellanic Cloud, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.Credit.NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) and J. Green (University of Colorado, Boulder)
May 13, 2021, 2:00 p.m. ET
Scientists studying a sample of oceanic crust retrieved from the Pacific seabed nearly a mile down have discovered traces of a rare isotope of plutonium, the deadly element that has been central to the atomic age.
The Chilling Story of The Demon Core And The Scientists Who Became Its Victims
3 APRIL 2021
It was August 13, 1945, and the demon core was poised, waiting to be unleashed onto a stunned Japan still reeling in fresh chaos from the deadliest attacks anyone had ever seen.
A week earlier, Little Boy had detonated over Hiroshima, followed swiftly by Fat Man in Nagasaki.
These were the first and only nuclear bombs ever used in warfare, claiming as many as 200,000 lives – and if things had turned out a little differently, a third deadly strike would have followed in their hellish wake.
But history had other plans.
New photos: North Korea may be trying to extract plutonium to make more nuclear weapons
4 Mar, 2021 07:06 AM
3 minutes to read
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Photo / AP
AP
By: Hyung-jin Kim
North Korea may be trying to extract plutonium to make more nuclear weapons at its main atomic complex, recent satellite photos indicated, weeks after leader Kim Jong Un vowed to expand his nuclear arsenal.
The 38 North website, which specialises in North Korea studies, cited the imagery as indicating that a coal-fired steam plant at the North s Yongbyon nuclear complex is in operation after about a two-year hiatus. Smoke was observed emanating from the plant s smokestack at various times from late February and early March.
North Korea may be trying to extract plutonium, photos indicate theglobeandmail.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theglobeandmail.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.