National Museum of Nuclear

Science and History

Chris Kan, Avery Arocha, Aidan Brady and Jake Vanderglas

Museum History
Museum created to inform public
about nuclear energy and weaponry.
First Atom bomb test occurred in Los
Alamos which is a few dozen miles
away.
Museum was founded in 1969, but the
new location was opened in 2009.

(The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History)

Manhattan Project/Los Alamos

The Manhattan Project came to an explosion of
the first atomic bomb was tested on July 16th, 1945.
Los Alamos is known for the development of atom
bombs there. The name Manhattan Program
began the program was under The Manhattan
Engineering District. Leslie Groves and Robert
Oppenheimer were the two men who discovered
the Los Alamos as a perfect space to test. President
Truman was informed of the successful testings
and made the bold move to use the bombs on
Japan. Los Alamos is close to the National
Museum of Nuclear Science and History where we
will visit during the trip.

(The Manhattan Project)

Cold War Conflict

Between 1950 and 1990 the US and western
Europe were at odds with the USSR and
eastern Europe. The US and USSR competed
for the most powerful nuclear arsenal. The
two nations spied on each other and started
proxy wars in order to gain the upper edge.
The two superpowers were at odds over
democratic capitalism versus totalitarian
communism.

(Speeches of War)

Nuclear Fission
Interactions between a single neutron and a
nucleus of either uranium-235 or
plutonium-239. The neutron strikes the nucleus
at extreme speeds causing neutrons from the
nucleus to be separated. This releases an
extreme amount of energy, as defined by Albert
Einsteins equation E=mc^2, where E is
change in energy, m is change in mass, and c is
the speed of light. The energy released causes a
chain reaction when the energy causes more
neutrons to split off, releasing more energy.
(Nuclear Fission Basics)

(Breaking Defense)

(Nuclear Weapons From Grolier's The New Book of Knowledge)

Interactions Of Nuclear Waste...

Radioactive Nuclear waste occurs at every stage of the nuclear fuel cycle. The nuclear waste and
the management of nuclear waste has been a controversial topic in our society today. Properly
dealing with Nuclear waste is important to both the environment and our health. In the Nuclear
Science Museum they have an exhibit over nuclear waste containment and Transport as seen, this
exhibit teaches you about how waste is treated, transported, and stored and can be recycled and
reprocessed.

(The National Museum of Nuclear Science &

History)

(The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History)

Nuclear Armaments- The US vs USSR

In 1949 the USSR completed their first test of an atom bomb.
From that moment on the democratic US and the communist
USSR were deadlocked in a battle for the most advanced
destructive nuclear weaponry. The two nations spent billions of
dollars researching and developing new weapons, developing
new forms of destruction such as nuclear submarines,
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM), and mortars. The next
slides will display the nuclear arsenals of the US and USSR.

US Nuclear Armament
The US began ramping up
nuclear arms production
after the 1953 testing of a
thermonuclear bomb by
the USSR. The US
developed missiles such as
LGM-30 Minuteman (left,
Brady) and V-2 (right,
Brady). The US also
developed the Apollo
program to launch missiles
from space.

USSR Nuclear armament

The USSR first tested the
thermonuclear A-bomb. The USSR
also developed the largest ICBM, the
R-36M (top, Russian/Soviet
Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems). The
USSR also were the first anti-ballistic
missile (ABM) system (bottom, R-36M
UTTKh).

HOW NUCLEAR WASTE IS TRANSPORTED

As previously stated properly transporting Nuclear Waste is of the utmost importance, and
20 million consignments of nuclear waste are transported each year. The transportation is
well regulated by the International Atomic Energy Agency. In fact it is so well regulated
there has never been an accident of highly radioactive material leaking or spilling. The
waste is first placed in secure and robust container that is sturdy enough to prevent spills or
leaks. Next waste is typically shipped to the area of disposal where it will be buried if the
waste is not to radioactive and depending on the country waste will be buried in a near
surface disposal (usually no more than 10 meters deep). However in the United States and
other countries with highly radioactive waste waste is buried in a deep geological disposal
area (depths of 200-1000 meters). This interaction with nuclear waste occurs in nearly every
country using nuclear energy or fusion.

Nuclear Medicine
Nuclear Medicine was discovered in the early 1900s and became widely popular in the
1950s. Nuclear medicine is a special type of medical imaging. A very small amount of
radioactive particles are injected into the body, and the images produced give doctors
the ability to see how the body functions. Today nuclear medicine has been able to
find abnormalities in the anatomy of the human body, which has lead to the increase
of early detection many diseases and disorders.

(Nuclear Medicine Scan)

(Nuclear Medicine Scan)

Nuclear Medicine cont...

CAT Scan

Nuclear Medicine Reactor

X-Ray Machine

Medicine Collection
Photos courtesy of A. Arocha

Story From The Museum

On September 11th 2001, following the attacks on the World Trade Center the
museum and its visitors were evacuated due to the attacks. Our group tour guide at
the museum had a first hand account of the day it happened. He told the our group the
story of how the CIA forced him to stop what he was doing and leave the museum the
staff and visitors were removed from Kirtland Air Force base, and the museum at that
location closed its doors for good. After the attacks the museum was moved to Old
town creating the new facility that we saw on the trip.

Scavenger hunt
1. Take a selfie with an aircraft in Heritage Park.
2. What are some common elements (besides
Uranium and Plutonium) used to create atomic
bombs? Krypton & Barium
3. What is the Main Street of America? Route 66

MLA Citations
"Welcome to the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History." The National
Museum of Nuclear Science & History. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2016
Transport of Radioactive Materials. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2016.
Radioactive Waste Management. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2016.
"The Manhattan Project." The Manhattan Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2016.
Benoit Morel. "Nuclear Weapons From Grolier's The New Book of Knowledge | Scholastic.com." Scholastic Teachers. Scolastic, n.d.
Web. 16 May 2016.
Gillespie, G. J. "SPEECHES OF WAR." : Cold War Against Communism Speeches. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2016.
"Nuclear Fission Basics." - For Dummies. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2016.
"Nuclear Medicine Scan." - King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2016.
"Russian/Soviet Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems." Russian/Soviet Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2016
"R-36M UTTKh | 15A18 | Satan." R-36M UTTKh | 15A18 | Satan. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2016.
LGM-30, National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. Personal photograph by Aidan Brady. 2016.
V-2, National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. Personal photograph by Aidan Brady. 2016.