According to the New York Times, physicist Kenneth Ford has defied the government’s orders to remove classified information from his new book, Building the H Bomb: A Personal History.
The Department of Energy, which maintains nuclear secrets, asked him to cut the material about the scientific breakthrough that allowed physicists to create the hydrogen bomb, or H-bomb. The government claims they are concerned the information will encourage non-friendly countries to develop thermonuclear technology.
For context, the hydrogen bomb is the most powerful weapon in the world and is hundreds, if not thousands, of times stronger than the atomic bomb. When scientists tested the H-bomb in 1952, it completely decimated Elugelab, an island in the Pacific, an act that makes the horror of the World War II-ending Nagasaki and Hiroshima‘s destruction look almost tame.
Since its invention, the government has tried to guard the secrets behind the H-bomb, but the classified details have still found ways to escape. Ford says he simply uses this already released information in his book.
Before going to print, Ford willingly submitted the manuscript to be vetted by the Department of Energy, but it was a move that blew up in his face. The result? “They wanted to eviscerate the book,” Ford told the New York Times. After six months of frustrating conversation and continued gridlock, publishers decided to release the book anyway.
Since Ford signed a nondisclosure agreement while working on the secret project, the government can technically pursue charges against him if they choose. However, others who have disclosed H-bomb secrets in the past have only sporadically been punished, and some believe the government would like to bring as little attention as possible to the book and its thermonuclear content.
Read the full story here.
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