Research Analyst Samuel Hickey was interviewed on Arab Talk, a San Francisco radio broadcast focusing on events in the Middle East, where he spoke about his recent article, “How Iran’s Research Reactors Prove the Nuclear Deal is Still Working,” which appeared in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Fact Sheet: The Civilian and Military Characteristics of Plutonium
Nuclear weapons require fissile materials, that is certain isotopes of uranium and plutonium, to sustain explosive fission chain reactions. Plutonium for weapons is normally obtained by reprocessing. Reprocessing is the separation of plutonium from irradiated uranium, often in the spent fuel from a nuclear reactor. The process was originally developed in the United States as […]
Fact Sheet: Uranium Enrichment: For Peace or for Weapons
Centrifuge technology is at the heart of the enrichment process, and the line between its uses for civilian and military purposes is hard to distinguish. Once a country has mastered this technology, the centrifuges can be reconfigured into cascades to either produce fuel for an electricity-generating nuclear reactor or the 25 kilograms of weapon-grade uranium […]
Fact Sheet: The Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Nuclear energy exhibits great potential as a low-carbon energy source, but carries inherent risks of diversion to weapons-related uses. At its core, the nuclear fuel cycle includes the various industrial processes associated with the production of electricity from uranium in nuclear reactors. However, some of the industrial processes more easily open the door to produce […]
Front and Center: August 22, 2021
NEW PODCAST ALERT: CHINA’S NUCLEAR BUILDUP AND THE CASE FOR DIALOGUE There is a rising clamor among top U.S. policymakers pushing for more military spending to confront China. Recent discoveries of new nuclear missile silos being built in China have only added fuel to the fire. But will China’s actions really change the nuclear balance […]
