What was it like to be a nuclear physicist during the Cold War?
Dr John Boldeman AO was there in the early days of Australia’s nuclear research program. He joined the Australian Atomic Energy Commission at Lucas Heights in 1960 and went on to work alongside scientists on both sides of the Iron Curtain.
He talks about Australia's first nuclear research reactor (the High Flux Australian Reactor), visiting Los Alamos and other labs around the world, running overnight experiments on a particle accelerator with a roll-out bed beside the controls, and being surrounded by soldiers in Bangladesh during a military coup over a few tourist photos.
He also addresses the question of whether Australia could ever have built a nuclear weapon, and explains why it never happened.
","author_name":"ConnectSci"}