On August 6, 1945, the sky above the Japanese city of Hiroshima opened. A blinding flash, then a deafening sonic boom. An entire city pulverized in seconds. Thus began the nuclear age. Today, 80 years ...

Teflon’s unique molecular structure made it useful in myriad applications, from nuclear weapons laboratories to your kitchen. Illustration by Emily Lankiewicz / Longhua Liao via Getty Images / U.S.

The first reports were met with disbelief. A single bomb with the explosive force to level a city; a bomb, detonated with such intensity it burned as bright as — maybe, even brighter than — the sun.

The “father of the atomic bomb” has long been misunderstood. Will the new film finally get J. Robert Oppenheimer right? Based on a True Story Andy Kifer Since the end of World War II, historians and ...

Cathryn Carson is professor of history of science, past director of the Office for History of Science and Technology and chair of the Department of History at the University of California, Berkeley.