Passion for Flight

During a recent visit in Albuquerque, NM, daughter Ingrid suggested that we visit the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History. This turned out to be a terrific idea. The museum is located near the intersection of Interstates 25 and 40. The name of the museum suggests that it may cover nuclear science with all its aspects. But the detailed and fascinating exhibits deal with just one part: the origins of nuclear weapons in World War II, the planes and rockets designed for their delivery, and the politics of nuclear threat and intimidation from the end of WW II to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The exhibits begin with the famous scientists who unraveled the secret of the atom. Next are the fortunately unsuccessful attempts in Germany and Japan to develop a nuclear bomb, and the huge scientific effort in the US that ultimately produced the first nuclear bombs. The first test bomb, code-named "Gadget," was exploded on a platform July 16, 1945,