While I can appreciate "Atomic trucker", the thing is in this crazy up is down world that we live in, where an imbecile war-monger like George W. Bush & Co. can so easily pretend that they have their own little G.I. Joe force to invade them all - it is exactly those types of psychopaths that will get their hands on the codes and destroy US all!!!

Interesting story. Smart guy. It's very true that anyone with enough time to do research could figure stuff like this out. Sad point about there always having been war and there always being war. I wish some could use their power more for the good of humanity instead of for destruction. Going to put my rose colored glasses back on now...

"One ring to bind them all..."

Thanks for posting. Very interesting documentary.

@Zora- The bomb was, relatively speaking, an inevitability- the theoretical pandora's box having been opened at the beginning of the 20th century. However, one can easily argue that it's use on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not, and that, if the US stated that the Emperor of Japan would not be held at trial if they surrendered, Japan was looking for a way to end the war PRIOR TO the bombs being dropped. A demonstration would have been as effective.

It is interesting to me that this articulate, intelligent man is driving a truck for a living. My suspicion is that he is sufficiently intelligent that if he had chosen to complete his degree, instead of dropping out in his junior year, that he would be capable of doing much more complex things than driving a truck. The mere fact that he was able to accomplish what he has suggests he is much more capable than he let on with his "turkeys" comment near the end.

Terrifying IMO. I read John Hersheys "Hiroshima" and had nightmares for several weeks. Ever since then, I've lived under a shadow of fear of the bomb. How I wish it had never been invented.

The very thought of it being so "easy to make" curdles my brain.

crashcromwell, you're implying that a trucker can't be, or shouldn't be intelligent, articulate, etc.  Perhaps he is satisfied that he is making a good living doing what he does, without the daily grind of many college graduates.  After all, many of the truly stupid people I know have degrees...hell look at some of our political figures, past and present!

This reminds of a quote from the movie UHF

"Hello, my name is Philo and welcome to Secrets of the Universe. Today we are going to learn how to make plutonium from common household items"

It is interesting to compare the weapon delivery systems of the past 60+ years. Not only have they decreased in size (ex. "dirty bomb") but also in the amount of technology required for the delivery system (ex. chemical or biological toxins).

At least we don't have to worry about the patron on the next bar stool carrying a concealed Manhattan Project bomb!

First the Atomic Trucker, then more recently the guy in Sweden who was assembling some atomic material in his kitchen.

This will probably not end well.

Thank you all for watching this and for your interesting comments. This had taken me more than 18 years of research about a topic that still remains Top Secret after over 60 years. It has not been easy. You would be amazed at the names of folks who have bought my book. Run my name through your favorite search engine to see the rest of the items, including the article about me in The New Yorker.

Not every intellingent person will get a college education especially since that has now been priced out of reach of everyone except those willing to put themselves into debt they can never pay back. Truck driving would be a very interesting job as it turns out. Good for him. Building nuclear weapons in the kitchen...wow so anybody could be the next 9-11 terrorist couldn't they.

Hi John,

Over the past few years of working with you on our little research project, I can appreciate some of the comments most poeple make about this subject. Some are very insightful, some midline, and some- downright idiotic. When you know the absolute facts about why it HAD to be used, how it works, and that EVERYONE knew how to make them 60 years ago makes those comments even more interesting. It was an inevitability. As my Grandad who worked in the manhatten project says, "You can't hide the secrets of nature", "They are going to know how". The secret to control is NOT to try to hide the mechanics and physics of the devices, (impossible), But to control the fissionable materials needed to make one.

For those that think a "demonstration" for the Japanese would have worked, then, a little more research on their part will reveal an terrible flaw in that thinking. No, a demonstration would have been an absolute failure. There are so many facts that guided the decisions on the use of those devices in WW2 that are out there for the general public to study. A new appriciation of why they were used can be a revalation, knowing more of the facts. (I.E. Johns book and others).

Some neat pics in our site of a 1/6th scale LB still under construction, under the tab "Special projects/ Physics" at TS Teknadyne.

 Interesting documentary. One thing that was disconcerting was a comment made by one of the physicists, during the presentation that included the atomic trucker, physicists, and students. A physicist commented to the students that "this is easy to make." Anyone can make this (atomic bomb). Really? It was a patronizing remark that the trucker handled with humility and grace. Did the physicist feel threatened? I speculate that he did. And, no, not anyone can make an atomic bomb. The trucker's academic proclivity was physics. He was studying physics when he dropped out in his junior year of college. It is likely that if the trucker completed his education he could have possibly been a better physicist than those seated at the presentation. Look what he figured out with minimal education - among other things, the geometric configuration of the uranium to be used in the bomb! Amazing.