After nuclear fission was discovered in 1939, several nations tried to weaponize the atom. Though most early programs quickly fizzled, it was fear of a Nazi atomic bomb that spurred the United States to build its own device in 1945. In Spying on the Bomb: American Nuclear Intelligence From Nazi Germany to Iran and North Korea, due out next March, historian Jeffrey Richelson documents 60 years of spying on foreign efforts to build the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. Read the rest of this entry »

There is a tense silence between the reassuring click of the restraint bar that pins riders into their seats and the ominous pfffft of the pneumatic launch mechanism engaging. In that brief interval, as passengers scan the steel track looming ahead, the anticipation is nearly unbearable. Suddenly, they rocket forward, slammed into the back of their seats as the coaster accelerates to 120 miles per hour in four seconds. Even drawing in enough breath to scream takes effort, as the train snakes up a 90-degree incline to a height of 420 feet, equivalent to 42 stories. There is a brief moment of zero gravity as the cars crest the loop, gliding past a flashing beacon installed to deter wayward airplanes. Riders clinch their hands as they plummet, twisting 270 degrees. And then, less than half a minute after hurtling out of the station, the train slowly glides back in, the restraining bar unlatches, and the ride is over. Read the rest of this entry »