<story><title>The Third Atomic Bomb</title><url>https://lflank.wordpress.com/2024/08/06/the-third-atomic-bomb/</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>dxs</author><text>This book is an incredibly good read: &amp;quot;&amp;#x27;The Making of the Atomic Bomb&amp;#x27; is a history book written by the American journalist and historian Richard Rhodes, first published by Simon &amp;amp; Schuster in 1987. The book won multiple awards, including Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction. The narrative covers people and events from early 20th century discoveries leading to the science of nuclear fission, through the Manhattan Project and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.&amp;quot;&lt;p&gt;Possibly the best book that I have ever read. It deals with many of the issues raised in the comments here, and with politics, industrial development, economics, military capabilities, and the history of modern physics.&lt;p&gt;Rhodes also wrote &amp;quot;&amp;#x27;Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb&amp;#x27;, which told the story of the atomic espionage during World War II, the debates over whether the hydrogen bomb ought to be produced, and the eventual creation of the bomb and its consequences for the arms race.&amp;quot; Also impeccable&lt;p&gt;Info: &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;The_Making_of_the_Atomic_Bomb&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;The_Making_of_the_Atomic_Bomb&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>
<story><title>The Third Atomic Bomb</title><url>https://lflank.wordpress.com/2024/08/06/the-third-atomic-bomb/</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>billti</author><text>&amp;gt; was foolishly violating the safety protocols by using a screwdriver to hold the two halves of the sphere apart. When the screwdriver slipped, the core dropped to form a critical mass&lt;p&gt;I always thought the material had to be forced together at high pressure for the chain reaction to start. Crazy that just dropping it had such dire consequences.</text></comment>