Author: Fission Today

This is second post of a two part series on this topic.Click here for part one. Did the Japanese offer to surrender before the atomic bombs were dropped in August 1945? In my first post earlier this week, I gave what we might call the standard diplomatic history answer: no, they didn’t. There were “peace feelers” to the Soviet Union from an important minority of the Japanese government, which is quite interesting and complicates the overly-simple picture of Japanese fanaticism that is often told about their refusal to surrender, but they don’t constitute, in any meaningful sense, a real offer…

Despite growing concerns about rising utility bills, Xcel Energy is lobbying Minnesota lawmakers to make permanent a controversial program that enables it to charge customers hundreds of millions of dollars for fossil fuel infrastructure upgrades without standard regulatory review. Passed in its current form in 2013, the Gas Utility Infrastructure Cost rider (GUIC) allows gas utilities to fast-track urgent repairs and replacements of aging pipelines. Xcel successfully lobbied to extend GUIC’s initial expiration date of June 2023 to June 2028 during the 2023 session. The legislation under consideration now, House File 3830/Senate File 3954, removes that sunset date to functionally…

In biology, defects are generally bad. But in materials science, defects can be intentionally tuned to give materials useful new properties. Today, atomic-scale defects are carefully introduced during the manufacturing process of products like steel, semiconductors, and solar cells to help improve strength, control electrical conductivity, optimize performance, and more.But even as defects have become a powerful tool, accurately measuring different types of defects and their concentrations in finished products has been challenging, especially without cutting open or damaging the final material. Without knowing what defects are in their materials, engineers risk making products that perform poorly or have unintended…

This year’s report identifies two opposing trends: nuclear arsenals are growing, even as more countries choose to reject nuclear weapons and join the ban treaty. The Monitor shows that the total number of nuclear warheads in the world currently stands at an estimated 12,187. This number includes retired warheads scheduled for dismantling. The number of warheads that are available to be used by the nine nuclear-armed states has increased again to 9,745 – an increase of 141 since last year – and with a combined explosive yield equating to more than 135,000 Hiroshima bombs Of this number, 4,012 warheads are…

Israel launches strikes on nuclear sites as Iran warns of retaliation Uranium facility, steel plants and heavy water complex among targets hit as IRGC warns of escalation. By Al Jazeera Staff, AFP, Reuters and The Associated Press, 27 Mar 2026 Israel has struck a uranium processing facility in the central Iranian city of Yazd, the Israeli military confirmed, in an escalatory move that comes as regional diplomats have been attempting to broker an agreement to halt the joint US-Israeli war on Iran. The Israeli Air Force said it hit a plant used to extract raw materials essential to the uranium enrichment process, describing it as a “unique facility”…

Electric bills have shocked Duke Energy customers across North Carolina in recent months, with some households reporting bills of over $1,000. More than 70,000 people have signed a petition launched by a Raleigh resident calling for an audit of the company’s billing system and refunds for customers. Duke Energy spokesperson Jeff Brooks told WRAL News that unusually cold weather was to blame, with heating use rising during a key winter billing period. Cold weather was a real factor. But it is not the whole explanation – and for many customers, it may not even be the primary one. A clearer…

For decades, the United States and Europe cast themselves as leaders of the global energy transition. Instead, China has seized that role through massive industrial policy and relentless investment in clean technology. The world’s largest emitter is now also the driving force behind the expansion of renewable energy. This shift is changing the economics – and the politics – of climate action. Credits: Fahroni | Shutterstock, All rights deserved. By the COP30 climate summit in Belém, it had become evident: China is streaking past the United States and European Union in terms of clean energy technology and its industries. China…

Like many people who end up going into physics, Sophia Henneberg had a hard time, when she was young, choosing between that discipline and mathematics. Both subjects came easily to her, and she — unlike many of her peers — thought they were fun. Henneberg grew up in a small town in central Germany, and it was not until one week before applying to college that she decided on physics, reasoning that it would still give her the chance to do plenty of math, while also affording opportunities to connect with a broad range of applications. Midway through her undergraduate studies…

A new Texas-based startup has launched an effort to build what would be the first U.S. uranium conversion facility in more than seven decades to restore a domestic capability it says has become “an unacceptable chokepoint” in America’s nuclear fuel supply chain. FluxPoint Energy made its public debut this week at CERAWeek by S&P Global, announcing plans to convert uranium oxide into uranium hexafluoride (UF₆) at a Texas facility. Headquartered in Houston and McLean, Virginia, the company was founded by Mike Chilton, an industry veteran who has more than 30 years of experience in uranium processing and nuclear fuel development.…

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