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On This Day...

: 1836

On this day in 1836 Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer, (known as Norman Lockyer) was born on this day in Rugby, England.

The British Scientist and astronomer was the first person to identify the element Helium which he discovered through the science of Electromagnetic Spectroscopy. On the 20^th of October 1868, using a telescope to focus the rays of the sun and a prism to split the light, Lockyer witnessed a prominent yellow line. It was also observed by French astronomer Pierre Jules Cesar Janssen while in India a few months earlier on the 18^th of August 1968. However, it wasn’t until 1870 that Lockyer boldly suggested it was the fingerprint of an unknown element. As he found this from the sun's rays Lockyer named the predicted element Helium after the Greek sun god Helios. 25 years later in 1895, William Ramsay confirmed Lockyer’s prediction when he successfully isolated Helium from a mineral called cleveite. Sir Lockyer (who gained the knighthood for his discovery) also founded the peer-reviewed journal Nature and was its first editor. Sir Norman Lockyer died on the 16^th of August 1920 in Salcombe Regis, England.; 1974

On this day in 1974 India became the world’s sixth nuclear-armed nation.

In the late 1960’s India and Nuclear-armed China had many border disputes and, fearing war, India spent many years developing their own nuclear armaments. On this day in 1974 India tested their first nuclear bomb nicknamed “Smiling Buddha” (this being the traditional anniversary of the Buddha’s enlightenment) which was believed to be an 8 kiloton device.

India’s nuclear programme started in 1944 and continued after India gained independence from the United Kingdom on the 26th of January 1950. In 1957 India set up The Atomic Energy Establishment in Trombay and in 1964 India began plans for a nuclear power reactor called Rajasthan 1. In 1962 the Sino-Indian border conflict progressed to war and when China became the fifth nation to create nuclear weapons in 1967, India increased its own nuclear weapons program.

The first nation to create and test a nuclear bomb was the United States in July 1945 with a 20kt device named “Trinity” followed by Russia with “RDS-1” in Aug/Sep 1949. The United Kingdom tested their first nuclear bomb on the 3^rd of August 1952 with “Hurricane” a 25-kiloton device tested off the coast of Western Australia. On the 13^th of February 1960, France tested their 70kt “Gerboise bleue" becoming the fourth and on the 16^th of October 1964, China became the fifth with their 22-kiloton device. These five nations are the only permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) which is a branch of the United Nations and was founded with the UN in 1946.

After World War II these nations were considered the main victors and they maintained the most powerful military forces in the world (except France who were overtaken by Japan in 2012). On the 1^st of July 1968, the United Nations set up the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. The treaty came into effect on the 5^th of March 1970 and called for all nations that signed to only use nuclear power for peaceful means such as the production of power (excluding the 5 permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)). 190 countries have signed the treaty but in 2003 North Korea withdrew its participation. India, Pakistan and North Korea are the only countries to have openly tested their nuclear weapons rejecting the Treaty.

Israel is widely believed that Israel has nuclear weapons but they have never officially admitted anything. Evidence, such as photographs, from a former nuclear technician, was leaked by Mordechai Vanunu in 1986 when he fled to Britain. He was lured to Italy soon after and abducted by Israeli forces. He was imprisoned for 18 years (11 of which were in solitary confinement) and released in 2004.

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