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The Georgia Nuclear Aircraft Laboratory , also known as AFP No. 67 , operated from 1958 to 1971 and was a crucial facility for research germane to the Air Force's efforts to develop a nuclear-powered bomber. Most of the work done at this lab was materials engineering-related and included irradiating various materials to better understand shielding requirements for the reactors that could power the proposed nuclear...

Moscow, pencil and marker drawing by Mike Walker. I plan soon to write more on this issue but I cannot stress enough how Russia is currently growing in its capacity as not only a strong domestic nuclear power industry but as an export industry, also. This article from Russia Beyond the Headlines is a good place to start on this issue: http://rbth.ru/science_and_tech/2013/12/17/growing_nuclear_industry_becomes_a_global_power_32661...

The headline necessary for a story like this one is always tough to write: you could say "Russia set to build nuclear plants in the UK" but that's not really correct. I guess that could grab the reader's attention fastest but it's not truthful in the details, and we all know the devil (and much else) is in the details. What is going on is this: England is waking up to the fact that it will need...

Without the key radionuclides that are used in radiopharmaceuticals, we would not have nuclear medicine as we know it today: by definition, without the radiopharmaceuticals we cannot have the nuclear diagnostic and therapeutic modalities that we depend upon for life-saving medical care. The concept of nuclear medicine was rooted in early discoveries about radioactivity by George de Hevesy in the 1920s, but really took...

Surgical suite, in honor of the medical contributions of the nuclear industry and International Day of Radiology. Drawing in marker by the author. I would like to call everyone's attention to Rod Adams ' blog post over at Atomic Insights regarding former NRC charman Dr. Greg Jaczko's "concerns" about future nuclear power and possible safety issues germane to America's next generation of...

The North American XB-70, which might have become the USAF's main nuclear-powered bomber platform. Sketch by the author in ink and Copic markers. � Soon I will be writing on this blog about the history of the United States Air Force's efforts to produce a nuclear-powered strategic bomber platform. It's a story told in bits and pieces elsewhere and there's some very fine writing on the subject out...

Covington, Virginia. Photo by the author. The past two weeks, I spent a fair amount of time hiking in my native state of Virginia (I was born in Roanoke, though I grew up mainly in Florida). While Virginia offers some amazing natural areas to explore including some of the best national forests and state parks in the entire nation, I spent some time in small cities and towns, just walking around and seeing what was...

I will be camping in western Virginia the coming two weeks, so probably no new blog posts for a bit. I wish everyone well as I explore my home state!

Drawing of the DeLong Islands in the East Siberian Sea, pencil and Copic markers, by the author. With Russia’s program to provide barge-like floating nuclear power plants—the first being the Academician Lomonosov —in the news recently, it’s fitting to look back to the actual origins of this novel solution to power provision and the need for such a solution in the first place. The concept...

Digital lithograph by the author of the interior of the Annular Core Research Reactor at Sandia Labs. DOE's Funding for Nuclear Research is Too Little for What is at Stake The US Department of Energy has announced its annual funding for university-level research in novel applications and techniques in nuclear power and associated fields. A total of $61 million has been allocated for this research and the majority...

Everyone following the nuclear industry probably is aware that Japan is shutting down its last remaining power reactor today, in good part due to public pressure in the wake of Fukushima Daiichi. The Japanese are taking an approach that is not what I would like to see, but is understandable due to how public opinion shifts after a disaster. So, goodbye to nuclear in Japan—for now. That is of course the bad news...

Fort Saint Vrain Generating Station, as it was opened in 1979 as a nuclear power facility. Drawing by the author in pencil and Copic markers. � As many of you are probably aware, Dr. Allison Macfarlane, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairwoman, provided a prepared testimony yesterday to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on the Environment and Economy, regarding the Yucca Mountain project...

Artists, myself included, have often been drawn to the landscapes of American industry. Nuclear power, while no different in its attraction, has alas, a different emotional response from many writers, visual artists, and musicians. Still, no matter one's politics or opinions, there is a duty to be informed in all we do—and that includes the arts. Drawing in pencil and Copic markers of an industrial landscape...

Sketch of downtown Minsk, Belarus, by the author in pencil and Copic markers. Belarus is a nation that probably doesn’t cross many people’s minds every day unless they have some direct connection to the country, live in neighboring Poland, or are like myself in the field of Slavic studies. However, for nuclear-watchers, some interesting things are afoot in Belarus right now. Even when it was still a...

I would like to call your attention to this blog post by Eric Schmitz where he details the logical reasons for liberals and progressives to favor and advocate for nuclear power: http://nuclearprogress.org/the-breakthrough-institute-liberals-and-progressives-for-nuclear . Schmitz and other progressives are providing a much-needed voice for nuclear in the arena of liberal politics. How nuclear power became a darling...

Photograph of Fort Island Trail Beach with the Crystal River Power Plant complex in the background, by the author. Most of you who follow the business and politics of American nuclear power know that this past spring, Duke Energy made the difficult choice to shutter their Crystal River 3 Nuclear Power Plant for good after structural issues with the concrete containment structure for the unit's pressurized water...

Rendering of the Clinch River Breeder Reactor site by the author, done in pencil and Copic markers and based on an origincal architectural sketch for the project. Alex Wellerstein , a historian at the American Institute of Physics, has a really awesome blog on the history of Cold War-era nuclear science, engineering, and our weapons programs. Given that Dr. Wellerstein has a PhD in the history of science from Harvard...

H. B. Robinson Nuclear Power Plant, rendering in pencil and Copic markers by the author. � How to Talk About Nuclear to Non-Nuke People: Questions and Answers All the major players in the nuclear industry from power companies to various industry supply-side folks have their own marketing and public relations people dedicated to providing a positive, comforting, view of nuclear power to the general public. However...

Cinch River Breeder Reactor, pen and Copic marker rendering by the author. In most industries, when a random article of electrical equipment breaks, only a handful of people know: the engineers and techs who have to deal with it, whomever has to sign off on repairs or a new one, and maybe a few folks higher up. That's not what happens in nuclear power in the United States. This is in fact what happens—please...

Central Moscow, drawing in pencil, ink, and Copic marker by the author. � Regarding Russia Note: I will be writing more on specifics—both historical and current—of Russia's nuclear industries. This short op-ed just introduces a few isses and thoughts on those issues, so if it seems detail is missing here or there, it wasn't possible in a short blog post to cover all the ground. More to come...

Pen and Copic marker rendering of the South Texas Nuclear Generating Station by the author. I was gathering my thoughts to write a blog post about why many people in the general public seem to distrust or even fear nuclear power and, indeed it seems, anything nuclear whatsoever. How, exactly, has an overall impressive safety record and the ability to provide safe, clean, energy devoid of dependence on foreign nations...

Pencil drawing by the author; Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station, Hollywood, Alabama. by Mike Walker History and science—or perhaps the history of science—as it pertains to the nuclear industry will be the main focus of this blog, hence the somewhat-mundane but honestly pragmatic title. I’ve long been an advocate of nuclear power (and in general an increase in peaceful applications of nuclear...