70 years since the beginning of the nuclear era

The history of mankind is inextricably linked with the development of technology. This is the original perk of our species in a game called "evolution." From time to time we create another technology that radically changes the balance of military forces, or significantly facilitates the receipt of some resource, or gives some new opportunities. Perhaps, these three characteristics can be attributed to nuclear energy. And the discovery and curbing of this force marked a new stage in the history of civilization.



July 16, 1945 in the desert expanses of the Alamogordo polygon swelling a dazzlingly bright shining ball. The top-secret project Manhattan was successfully completed - humanity released a new force, nothing even close to which we had yet.



It looked like this:

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We still had a lot to learn about what is radiation, what is its impact on living organisms and the environment. And this was done in the best traditions of human history: the tests were carried out on their own kind.







A multi-year period of nuclear testing, formally completed only in 1998, began. During this time, more than 2,000 nuclear charges were blown up on the planet. It is believed that because of this, the natural radiation background on Earth has grown on average two to three times.







In 1961, the AN602, the most powerful thermonuclear bomb in history, was nicknamed the Tsar Bomb and Kuzkin's Mother in our country.







Of course, atomic energy has given us not only new weapons. We were able to build the most powerful power stations, which allowed supplying entire areas with electricity. Nuclear-powered icebreakers made possible year-round navigation along the gigantic northern coast of Russia: the world's first nuclear-powered icebreaker "Lenin" was launched in 1957.







Today, the base of our icebreaking fleet is made up of ships of the “Arctic” type, capable of breaking ice up to 2.25 m thick. .







A project LK-110Ya is also being developed, which will have a capacity of up to 110 MW and will break the ice 3.7 meters thick. By the way, once we (and not only) even had the idea of ​​creating nuclear aircraft. Unfortunately, the projects of such devices were not implemented due to enormous technological difficulties. But maybe it is for the better: when fragile atomic reactors fly over you, very uncomfortable thoughts and fantasies arise in your head. But in the 1970s, an experimental nuclear rocket engine for spacecraft was created in the USSR. And it is possible that someday this technology will again be in demand by our space industry.











However, the development of the peaceful atom does not stop. For example, due to the warming of the climate and the need to develop the Arctic and the Far East, a project is underway to create floating NPPs capable of supplying energy and heat to coastal cities in remote regions of our country.







On the other hand, in the conditions of the NPP market, they are not always the winners in terms of profitability. So it is difficult to say whether the nuclear power industry expects a bright future. Although humanity is unlikely to completely abandon this dangerous, but powerful source of energy.