Kickoff For July 21, 2025
Since I can't think of anything pithy or even semi coherent with which to introduce this week's letter, let's get Monday started with these links:
An Unearthly Spectacle — Wherein we take a deep dive into the story of the Tsar Bomba, a Soviet nuclear weapon that produced the largest explosion in history, and get an idea of the broader implications of that bomb.
From the article:
The Tsar Bomba is not just a subject for history; some of the same dynamics exist today. It is not just the story of a single weapon that was detonated six decades ago, but a parable about political posturing and technical enablement that applies just as acutely today. In a new era of nuclear weapons and delivery competition, the Tsar Bomba is a potent example of how nationalism, fear, and high-technology can combine in a fashion that is ultimately dangerous, wasteful, and pointless.
Why does Switzerland have more nuclear bunkers than any other country? — Wherein we get a look at the physical manifestation of the country's civil defense infrastructure, learn about not only how it's intended to be used but how it's used now, and learn about the challenges of maintaining those bunkers.
From the article:
[T]he Swiss attachment to universal civil protection remains notable, and the reasons behind it go deeper than finances alone. Bunkers are simply “an integral part of Swiss identity”, argued Guillaume Vergain, deputy head of service for civil protection and military affairs for the canton of Geneva, and whose job it is to make sure shelters are built to code and at capacity within his jurisdiction. “It’s in our DNA.”
The Universal Tech Tree — Wherein Étienne Fortier-Dubois explores the sometimes subtle interconnections between technologie, how the development of those technologies often follows a tree-like structure, and how he went about creating a simulation of the titular tech tree.
From the article:
Inventions don’t spontaneously spring from the head of a genius like Thomas Edison in complete form. They always descend from something else. Sometimes that’s an aspect of nature (legend has it that Cai Lun, a court official in the third century Eastern Han Dynasty, invented paper after watching wasps build their nest). More often, technologies come from other technologies: earlier versions, prerequisites, or components that can be combined into something new.
Did Water Form in the Earliest Years of the Universe? — Wherein we learn about some fascinating research into the origins of the liquid that many of us take for granted.
From the article:
Just think about that for a moment. Just a few heartbeats after the beginning of everything, of both space and time, there may have been water worlds gliding around, long before there were even enough stars to form galaxies. If life took root on those oceanic worlds, and it were able to gaze upward, it would have seen a night sky staggeringly different from our own diamantine vista.
Did “Big Oil” Sell Us on a Recycling Scam? — Wherein Aissa Dearing argues that the initiatives to reduce our use, and waste, of plastics shift responsibility away from manufacturers to individuals, and that reduce, reuse, recycle needs a third 'R': replace.
From the article:
[R]esearch suggests that our dependence on recycling as a solution isn’t only ineffective—it’s based on a carefully crafted illusion. The narrative that recycling can meaningfully counteract the plastic crisis was constructed by the oil and gas industry to maintain public demand for plastic and delay regulation of its production.
Destination: Jupiter — Wherein we learn a bit about humanity's fascination with the largest planet in the solar system, about initiatives to explore Jupiter, and how all of that filtered into the realm of speculative fiction.
From the article:
As the modern era of science fiction began to emerge in the early twentieth century through pulp magazines, Jupiter and its moons were an attractive destination for plenty of authors: Stanley G. Weinbaum visited Io in 1935’s “The Mad Moon,” and Europa in 1936’s “Redemption Carin,” while Frank Belknap Long published “Red Storm on Jupiter” the same year.