New Atlas

Science Audio available

Melted remains of Hiroshima discovered on beaches seven miles from nuclear bomb site

Anthony Wood May 15, 2019

Tiny glassy particles that litter the beaches near Hiroshima in Japan are likely the resolidified remains of the city destroyed by a US atomic bomb on the morning of August 6, 1945, according to the results of a newly published study.

Particles collected from the sands near Hiroshima, some of which were coated in layers of silica, ...

Robotics

Haptic feedback robots to give bomb disposal squads a feel for the fuse

Nick Lavars December 26, 2018

Bomb disposal work is as dangerous as it comes, but the British Army will now have an advanced new tool to help them with the task at hand. Welcomed into the ranks this week is a shiny new set of ground vehicles that will afford the bomb disposal team some useful capabilities.

Space Audio available

WW II Allied bombing campaigns affected the edge of space

David Szondy September 26, 2018

A team of scientists from the University of Reading has found that the bombing raids against the Axis powers by Allied forces during the Second World War were so intense that their effects were detected on the edge of space.

US Army bomber attacking factory at Marienburg, Germany, on 9 October 1943

Physics

Declassified nuclear detonation films released to the public for the first time

Rich Haridy December 14, 2017

The US government has just released 62 newly declassified videos showing footage of atmospheric nuclear tests from the first half of the 20th century. The videos, never before seen by the general public, have been uploaded to YouTube.

The newly released videos have never before been seen by the general public

Military

Testing begins on budget JDAM guided-bombs with the MQ-9 Reaper UAV

Mike Hanlon May 23, 2017

The announcement that testing is underway using GBU-38 JDAM guided-bombs with the American hunter-killer MQ-9 Reaper UAV didn't make a lot of general news coverage, but it is a reminder that drone warfare is getting much cheaper and more precise.

The "fly away" cost of a General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper is currently in the vicinity of ...

Robotics

Underwater bomb-defusing robot arms to make a splash with the US Navy

Michael Irving February 13, 2017

Bomb disposal robots are good in dangerous situations on land, but what if a would-be bomber hides their explosives under a bridge or a ship? In the future the US Navy might send in a submarine drone endowed with a pair of inflatable robot arms that are currently being developed by RE2 Robotics.

RE2 Robotics is moving into Phase II of developing an Underwater Dual Manipulator system for bomb ...

Military

Helmet sensors to record blast exposure in at-risk soldiers

Nick Lavars January 16, 2017

Looking to tackle the early signs of traumatic brain injury, the US Navy is developing small sensors that, when paired with specialized scanner, can quickly convert blast pressure into a clear signal of whether of not that soldier should stand down.

The sensors are currently in a testing phase

Science

Why dogs' noses out-sniff the most advanced bomb detectors

Lisa-Ann Lee December 2, 2016

In 2010, after spending billions on research, Pentagon officials admitted that there was no better bomb detector than a dog's nose. Now scientists say the reason for this might lie simply in the way they sniff.

It's all in the nose – dogs see the world in terms of smells, thanks to ...

Automotive

Electric buggy gets bomb disposal experts and their gear to the job

Scott Collie October 14, 2016

Electric power is used to run everything from boats to rollerblades, along with cars and motorbikes, but Torq's latest battery-powered vehicle could be the most useful of them all. The LETV has room for a fully-suited bomb-disposal expert, along with all the equipment needed to get the job done.

Torq has designed the LTEV to accommodate fully kitted out bomb disposal experts

Science

Mobile detector sniffs out would-be suicide bombers

Nick Lavars February 18, 2016

Suicide bombers are a tactic that is effectively deployed all too often. One entrepreneur is looking to help reveal such threats with a detector that scans subjects for shrapnel commonly used in suicide vests and explosives.

The CBD-1000 bomb detector (left) is trained on a mock suicide vest