nuclear war
75 Years On, the Doomsday Clock Keeps Ticking
The iconic graphic of a timepiece originated as a nuclear warning. It updates its time on Thursday amid threats like climate change and pandemics.
To Make Fairer AI, Physicists Peer Inside Its Black Box
After repurposing facial recognition and deepfake tech to study galaxies and the Higgs boson, physicists think they can help shape the responsible use of AI.
Nuclear Tests Have Changed, but They Never Really Stopped
75 years after the first explosive nuclear tests, now outlawed, sophisticated virtual testing allows American physicists to understand these weapons better than ever.
How Close Is Iran to a Nuclear Weapon? Here's What We Know
Iran is no longer abiding by many of the restrictions in the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, but that doesn’t mean it’s about to build a bomb, either.
Even a Small Nuclear War Could Trigger a Global Apocalypse
Nuclear war doesn't have to be big to devastate the world, inducing years of famine and climate catastrophe alongside all that death and radiation.
The Grid Might Survive an Electromagnetic Pulse Just Fine
A new report enters the debate over whether an EMP from a nuclear blast or a solar flare would cripple the power grid and concludes that actually, we'll probably be OK.
It’s Not Quite Doomsday o’Clock—But It Should Be
Opinion: The apocalyptic clock remains fixed at two minutes to midnight—as close as we've ever been to catastrophe. That's not close enough.
How Trump Could Trigger Armageddon With a Tweet
Times have changed. The president is being held in check by terrified aides who are trying to keep his worst impulses in check. But disaster may only be a tweet away. Here's how it could happen.