"I'm glad that the Nazi program was not as advanced by the end of war."
Nazi Cubes
Nazi scientists tried to create a nuclear bomb during World War II using two-inch cubes made of uranium fuel.
Although the bomb did not materialize, many of the cubes were confiscated by the Allies. Even those that scientists have access to remain a mystery. Researchers are now making progress in tracking them down according to research presented at the American Chemical Society conference. This is also helping to better understand Nazi-inspired experimental technology.
Nuclear Forensics
Researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are busy trying to trace some of the cubes' origins. Strangely, the scientists involved in the project don't know how they got them.
Brittany Robertson, PNNL researcher, stated in a press release that some of the historical data they are working with is anecdotal. The team believes it can track different cubes back the scientists involved, including Werner Heisenberg, based on the material used to coat them.
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The researchers claim that the search for the cubes was a great practice run for the technologies and techniques they are developing for nuclear forensics. These could be used to trace nuclear weapons or smuggled material that poses a greater threat than relics of a war 80-years ago.
Robertson stated in the release that the Nazi program was not as advanced as they desired by the end. The world would be very different if it were.
READ MORE: Confirming Nazi Germany's failed nuclear program by confirming the pedigree for uranium cubes [American Chemical Society]
More about nuclear weapons: The Admiral in Charge Of Nukes boasts about crushing tons of monster energy drinks
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