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Also, major new Klaus Fuchs files just dropped. Might take a peek

Presumably Fuchs went along with it because it was implied to him that him being purely voluntary would be better for his sentencing/etc.? (If so, it didn't work — he got the maximum sentence.) Just conjecturing here — I don't know the UK legal context for sentencing...

The bit about evidence is interesting. Skardon apparently did say to Fuchs that they had hard evidence on him from undisclosed sources (VENONA). But then worked very hard to cover that fact up (to hide VENONA's existence). Which Fuchs largely went along with — except here, I guess.

Yes, that is my guess. Skardon testified about his interrogation of Fuchs in open court.

Centrists always present these takes as savvy "harsh truths" for the left, but they're the most pathetic kind of ignorant, cowardly self-soothing. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

In the time of the Odyssey, they used a Doomsday Sundial, I believe

When historians agree, it is mostly that they agree that one assertion/approach/etc. is wrong (a negative approach). That's easier to do than to agree more positively. They do not tend to round the wagons and declare a consensus unless there is a threatening force creating the context for that.

I also wrote and article on the question of "accuracy" and what that should even be construed as meaning in this context — it's a trickier issue than I think a lot of people appreciate. Particularly because it isn't like historians all agree with each other most of the time.

My book spends an inordinate amount of time on the Oppenheimer-Truman meeting in no small part because people kept asking me if Nolan's depiction of it was "accurate"

his Greeks also lack the pert lil' butts that many Ancient sources depict

I don't think I've ever seen this guy break before. He's trying so hard not to laugh. www.tiktok.com/@huskistaken...

I am amused at how similar UF6 looks to various illegal drugs when in its solid form, inside a glass vial "hey man, you got any UF6? I need a fix..."

And one more note: the EMPTY cylinder weighs 25 kg / 55 lb. And can be loaded with 25 kg / 55 lb of UF6. So the total weight of a full cylinder is 50 kg / 110 lbs. So each of them pretty heavy, from the perspective of individual people trying to move them around.

(Also, and this is really just a note for me — I have confirmed that 5Bs are authorized for up to 100% U235, 25 kg. This source is really useful...) digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/m...

Here are a bunch of 5B cylinders being manufactured in the USA. Apparently each can contain up to 25 kg (55 lbs) of HEU. This is roughly the number of cylinders you'd expect the Iranian HEU to be packed into, although they of course could use more if they wanted to spread it out.

Here are a bunch of 5B cylinders being manufactured in the USA. Apparently each can contain up to 25 kg (55 lbs) of HEU. This is roughly the number of cylinders you'd expect the Iranian HEU to be packed into, although they of course could use more if they wanted to spread it out.

Gosh, there is a whole rabbit hole of how UF6 is stored/transported in the USA. Unsurprisingly lots of guidelines. The big cylinders (30B) are for no more than 5% U235. The little cylinders for HEU are called 5B. This is a big issue for HALEU because HALEU is >5% but would exceed the 5B supply.

Small surface area + a solid at any reasonably ambient temperature (50ºC is hot!!) = much more survivable than a large cylinder full of gas, yes? And of course with small cylinders you could also shield the cylinders much better, very trivially — boxes within boxes and so on.

That plus it being a solid at ambient temperature helps with my thinking through of a big question re: Iran's UF6, which is how "survivable" it was for something like a cave-in attack.

I think the cylinder size thing is interesting. I had always imagined what Iran would be storing as big large cylinders. Which I'm sure is true for some of it. But for the 60% stuff, probably not.