Is there Really Just Gold in Fort Knox?

Posted by: Rocco Penn
From: http://topcultured.com/

As you’ll see below, there’s an awful lot that goes into protecting our nation’s gold. Considering that it’s current value is around $270 billion, some speculate that there’s more than just gold inside. Some say there are…

• Weapons and Defense Items: In case of nuclear or zombie attack (or both) there is no safer place in the world. Could there be secret weapons and a way to get the President and other important people down there in case DC is compromised?
• Aliens: Whenever tinfoil hats come out, aliens have to be in the picture.
• Lies: What if we already sold off all of our gold? The vault would be the perfect way to keep our economy from collapsing despite the lack of a gold standard.

Whatever you believe, one thing is certain: you’d have an easier time getting into the White House than you would getting into Fort Knox (and don’t try to get into the White House – it’s dangerous over there).

This infographic by CreditSesame breaks down the facts and speculations nicely. Click to enlarge.

Solo East Travel: Chernobyl Tour

http://www.tourkiev.com/

23 Years Later, You can now tour the Reactor, town, and surroundings.

BOOK YOUR TOUR TO CHERNOBYL

You can book a private tour or join one of the scheduled group tours below. If you're already in Kiev call us at 406-3500 and we might offer a very good price for you, students discounts for the tours scheduled on the next few days.

Watch in 2011 on Travel Channel - Julian and Camilla's World Odyssey in Chernobyl.
We provide the best guides - Watch our guests Filip & Fredrik i Tjernobyl (Swedish/English)

BOOK YOUR TOUR TO STRATEGIC MISSILE FORCE BASE
(Near Pervomaysk 300 km South of Kiev.)

The high light of the trip is being a descent 33 meters down to the bottom of the Unified Launch Control Center!

• Take an underground corridor to the massive doors which lead to a self-contained silo-based 12-storey Command Post which could function sealed from the outside world for 45 days.
• Sit in the Command seat and experience what Soviet officers could feel during the Cold War and being in charge of nine missiles SS-22. You can touch the button that could cause a catastrophe if pressed 18 years ago.
• Look inside SS-18 'Satan' Intercontinental Ballistic Missile - equipped with up to 10 warheads and 40 penaids - it used to give Soviet Union "first strike" advantage over the U.S. - it's operating range 10,200-15,200 km, Weight 209,600 kg (462,000 lb) Length 32.2 m (106 ft) Diameter 3.05 m (10.0 ft).

How does a nuclear meltdown work? (w/ Video)

From: http://www.physorg.com/

This illustration of a nuclear reactor shows water entering the core and surrounding the fuel rods (vertical red bars). When the water level decreases, the fuel rods begin to heat up and face the risk of melting. Image from video below.

(PhysOrg.com) -- When working properly, nuclear reactors produce large amounts of heat via nuclear fission reactions. The heat converts the surrounding water into steam, which turns turbines and generates electricity. But if you remove the water, you also remove the most important cooling element in a nuclear reactor and open up the possibility for nuclear meltdown.

A handful of nuclear meltdowns of varying degrees of severity have occurred since the 1950s, when researchers began building and testing nuclear reactors. The most serious instance happened in 1986 in Chernobyl, Ukraine. Plagued by design flaws and operator errors, the plant experienced fires, explosions, and radiation leakage. As a result, 30 people died of acute radiation syndrome, and thousands of cases of fatal cancers and birth defects have been reported in the following years. Today, limited access is allowed inside a 30-km (19-mile) exclusion zone surrounding the area.

By comparison, the Three Mile Island accident in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was much less serious. In 1979, a minor cooling system malfunction led to a series of events that caused a partial meltdown that damaged one of the reactors. However, very little radiation was released into the environment due to the surrounding primary containment vessel. Although the accident caused public concern, no deaths or adverse health effects have been officially attributed to the meltdown.

In Japan, the current nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant lies somewhere in between Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, according to recent news reports. Last Friday’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake and 10-meter (33-foot) tsunami waves that traveled up to 10 km (6 miles) inland overpowered several of the plant’s safety measures. Although employees at the plant have been risking their lives to try to keep the reactors cool, the chance of a serious meltdown seems to be increasing.

Inside a reactor

Inside the core of a nuclear reactor are thousands of long, thin fuel rods made of zirconium alloy that contain uranium. When a reactor is turned on, the uranium nuclei undergo nuclear fission, splitting into lighter nuclei and producing heat and neutrons. The neutrons can create a self-sustaining chain reaction by causing nearby uranium nuclei to split, too. Fresh water flows around the fuel rods, keeping the fuel rods from overheating and also producing steam for a turbine.

But if not enough water flows into the reactor’s core, the fuel rods will boil the water away faster than it can be replaced, and the water level will decrease. Even when the reactor is turned off so nuclear reactions no longer occur, the fuel rods remain extremely radioactive and hot and need to be cooled by water for an extended period of time. Without enough water, the fuel rods get so hot that they melt. If they begin to melt the nuclear reactor core and the steel containment vessel, and release radiation into the environment, nuclear meltdown occurs.

What's happening at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Video credit: Reuters.

Japan’s cooling problems

When the earthquake struck Japan, three of the six reactors (Reactors 4, 5, and 6) at the Fukushima power plant were already off for routine inspections. Earthquake tremors triggered the automatic shutdown of the other three reactors, Reactors 1, 2, and 3 (along with eight other nuclear reactors at other power plants). To stop the chain reaction, control rods that absorb neutrons were inserted in between the fuel rods.

But the fuel rods are still hot, since radioactive byproducts of past fission reactions continue to produce heat. When the earthquake tore down the power lines, the plant’s main cooling system stopped working. As a backup measure, diesel generators turned on to spray the fuel rods with coolant. But the tsunami that occurred shortly after the earthquake was larger than the plant’s designers had anticipated, and water flowed over the retaining wall and into the area with the generators, causing them to fail. The next backup measure for cooling the fuel rods was a battery system, but the batteries lasted only a few hours. Later, technicians brought in mobile generators and also attempted to inject seawater into the nuclear reactors, which makes them permanently unusable but could help prevent a complete meltdown

While the nuclear technicians searched for better cooling options, the water levels continued to decrease, exposing the tops of the fuel rods. Pressure also began building in some of the reactors. So far, at least three explosions have occurred in Reactors 1, 2, and 3. The explosions happened when the fuel rods began to melt and release gases that reacted with the surrounding steam, producing hydrogen. To release some pressure and prevent explosions, technicians vented some of the reactors, which also released some radioactive material into the environment. Officials have said that the pressure in Reactor 2 dropped significantly after the explosion there, suggesting that the explosion breached the steel containment structure - the reactor’s “last resort” for containing leaked radiation.

Also, a fire ignited at Reactor 4, thought to be caused by a large pile of spent fuel rods in a pond. Spent fuel rods need to be kept fully submerged in water for cooling, but the lack of water has left some of the rods partially exposed. Smoke from the fire temporarily increased radiation levels around the reactor, so preventing future fires is very important. The Fukushima plant has seven ponds of spent fuel rods from the past few decades. By some estimates, there may be as many as half a million spent fuel rods that are still radioactive and could catch fire if not kept cool.

Japanese officials have stated that radiation around the nuclear reactors has risen to the level where it would adversely affect a person’s health. Officials have implemented a 20-km (12-mile)-radius evacuation zone, and have advised people to stay indoors. The US has told its citizens living in the area to stay at least 50 miles away from the power plant. Some people have been taking prophylactic iodine as a safety measure; consuming this non-radioactive iodine before exposure to radioactive iodine can fill a person’s thyroid and hopefully prevent absorption of the radioactive variety. Fortunately, westerly winds have so far blown much of the radioactive material out to sea.

Overall, because the extreme events that caused the cooling problems are so rare and unexpected, it’s difficult to predict exactly what will happen next for Japan’s nuclear plants.

More information: via: IEEE Spectrum, The Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, and National Geographic

© 2010 PhysOrg.com

Japanese artist maps 1945-1998's nuclear explosions

By Duncan Geere
From: http://www.wired.co.uk/

A Japanese artist named Isao Hashimoto has created a series of works about nuclear weapons. One is titled "1945-1998" and shows a history of the world's nuclear explosions.

Over the course of fourteen and a half minutes, every single one of the 2053 nuclear tests and explosions that took place between 1945 and 1998 are is plotted on a map.

A metronomic beep every second represents months passing, and a different tone indicates explosions from different countries. It starts out slowly, with the Manhattan Project's single test in the US and the two terrible bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II.

After a couple of minutes or so, however, once the USSR and Britain entered the nuclear club, the tests really start to build up, reaching a peak of nearly 140 in 1962, and remaining well over 40 each year until the mid-80s.

It's a compelling insight into the history of humanity's greatest destructive force, especially when you remember that only two nuclear explosions have ever been detonated offensively, both in 1945. Since then, despite more than 2,000 other tests and billions of dollars having been spent on their development, no nuclear warheads have been used in anger.

Born in Japan in 1959, Hashimoto worked in the financial industry for 17 years before studying in Tokyo in the department of Arts, Policy and Management, and then getting a job as a curator at the Lalique museum in Hakone, Japan.

He began the piece in 2003, with the aim of showing, in his own words, "the fear and folly of nuclear weapons". Hashimoto says: " I created this work for the means of an interface to the people who are yet to know of the extremely grave, but present problem of the world."

As the timescale on the animation only reaches 1998, it doesn't include North Korea's two nuclear tests in October 2006 and May 2009.

Here's the video:

Photo Credit: Isao Hashimoto

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Online Editor: Nate Lanxon

10 Sci-Fi Weapons That Actually Exist

• By Aaron Rowe
• From: http://www.wired.com/

Sure, the gear may look like it came straight out of Avatar or Battlestar Galactica. But all of the laser weapons, robots, sonic blasters and puke rays pictured here are real. Some of these weapons have already found their way onto the battlefield. If the rest of this sci-fi arsenal follows, war may soon be unrecognizable.
Read on for a look at some of these futuristic weapons being tested today.
Above:
The XM-25 grenade launcher is equipped with a laser rangefinder and on-board computer. It packs a magazine of four 25mm projectiles, and programs them to detonate as they pass by their targets. That feature will allow soldiers to strike enemies who are taking cover. By 2012, the Army hopes to arm every infantry squad and Special Forces unit with at least one of the big guns.
In August, a lucky soldier got to pull the trigger, and fire off a HEAB, or High Explosive Air Burst, round at the Aberdeen Testing Ground in Maryland. Those projectiles pack quite a punch. They are purportedly 300 percent more effective than normal ammo, and will be able to strike targets as far as 700 meters (2,300 feet) away.
Photo courtesy U.S. Army

Remotely operated weapons are showing up everywhere. Israel is building an automated kill zone. An American firm, More Industries, offers a turret that can aim and fire two automatic shotguns.
Some bots have been defusing bombs for years, but none have seen combat. That’s a shame, according to Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, who believes that 122 men could have been spared if combat bots had been working in their stead.
There was a set of armed robots sent to Iraq. They never fired a shot, however. They weren’t allowed to. No one could guarantee that the bots wouldn’t go berserk and mow down friendly troops or otherwise malfunction, even though they have lots of safeguards.
Considering how much firepower they pack, safeguards are really important. The Maars system (above) can be equipped with four grenade launchers and a machine gun that packs 400 rounds of 7.62 caliber ammunition.
But its manufacturers like to point out its less-lethal capabilities. Instead of mowing people down, it can stick to the fine print of the first law of robotics and fire tear gas canisters, smoke grenades, smoke bombs and perhaps even Taser’s upcoming 40mm people-zapper projectile. Three were deployed to Iraq last year.
Photo courtesy QinetiQ North America

The Active Denial System fires a beam of millimeter-wave radiation. It make people feel like their skin is burning without causing any permanent damage. Though promising as a nonlethal weapon, the pain ray has some serious limits.
On a rainy day, water droplets will disperse the beam, and it may feel warm and refreshing instead of frightening. On a hot day, the cooling system might give out. The problems don’t stop there. Raytheon’s baby is bulky, and despite repeated requests to send it into battle, shipments of the energy weapon have been delayed. The military is looking for a stronger, lighter weapon.
Photo courtesy U.S. Army

If troops spot someone suspicious approaching them, they can use the Long Range Acoustic Device to send a warning message. It fires narrow beams of sound waves that can be heard clearly from 300 meters (about a thousand feet) away. Crank up the power, and it can emit a warning tone so loud that anyone in its path would have no choice but to cover their ears and run.
The manufacturer doesn’t like to call these devices weapons, even though they’ve been used to repel pirates. Cops used them to harass protesters at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh this year.
Photo courtesy U.S. Marine Corps

Drones are arguably the most controversial weapon in the war on terror. By some accounts, they are deeply feared by the Taliban.
They’ve taken out many Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders, and their sound when flying low is a constant annoyance and a reminder of their menace . But they also kill a lot of civilians.
They are, however, far more cost effective than supersonic fighter jets. Predators can pack two Hellfire missiles. Their big brothers, Reapers, can hold four Hellfires and two 500-pound bombs.
Photo courtesy Bryan William Jones

Photo courtesy of Bryan William Jones

Flash bang grenades were designed to stun people. But they have a pretty bad safety record. The little bombs have dismembered at least one soldier and caused hearing loss in others.
To remedy that problem, Mark Grubelich and his colleagues at Sandia National Laboratory built the Improved Flash Bang Grenade. It hurls flaming aluminum particles into the air, causing a bright flash without an accompanying shockwave.
Photo courtesy Sandia National Laboratory

Even the angriest mobs would probably think twice about trying to pass a Taser Shockwave barrier. It is the less-lethal equivalent of a claymore mine. Push the big red button, and it will fire 24 electrified probes at the same time in a single direction.
Photo: Pat Shannahan/Wired.com

After learning about an experimental weapon that can make people feel seasick, Limor Fried and Phil Torrone decided to build their own. They did it for less than $250, and wrote step-by-step instructions so that anyone can make one at home.
It can create a nauseating lightshow with 36 pulsating LEDs.
Their design has a bonus feature. You can set it to disco mode. Instead of making you sick, the weapon will add life to your next party.
Photo courtesy Bedazzler

If you’re worried that someone’s about to attack you, but not completely sure of their intent, it’s a good idea to give them a warning before pulling the trigger. Green laser pointers are a great way to extend that courtesy. The Marines like to call them “ocular interruption devices.”
Shine one in someone’s face, and your target should immediately get the message that it’s time to back off. The LA-9/P, made by B.E. Meyers, can warn people from up to 4 kilometers (2½ miles) away. It fires a 250-milliwatt beam. That’s roughly 1/4,000 the strength of the smallest anti-aircraft lasers.
Even so, you’ve got to be careful when handling the thing. Over a few months in Iraq, a dozen soldiers were wounded in dazzler “friendly fire.” Several troops may have been injured while monkeying around with laser target designators, which are substantially more powerful than the less-lethal devices.
Photo courtesy B.E. Meyers

Behold the Laser Avenger, a cannon that could be used to take down incoming aircraft. Boeing was able to shoot a drone out of the sky with the hummer-mounted laser, even though it’s not particularly high-powered. It cooked the remote-controlled aircraft using a somewhat feeble 1-kilowatt beam.
More recently, the company shot down another UAV using a low-power laser paired with its Mobile Active Targeting Resource for Integrated eXperiments, or Matrix, system during a test in White Sands, New Mexico.
Northrop Grumman is hard at work on a 100-kilowatt laser weapon, which could do far more damage, but it’s not quite ready for prime time. It’s fully operational, but looks like a refrigerator.
Boeing announced in late December that the Avenger has been used to destroy 50 different improvised explosive devices, during tests at Redstone Aresenal in Huntsville, Alabama.
Photo courtesy Boeing