Physical Society Colloquium

The Nuclear Threat: What it is, why you should care, and what you can do about it

Raymond Jeanloz

Earth & Planeraty Science, UC Berkeley & Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction

The deployment of thousands of nuclear weapons around the world creates a potential threat to civilization as we know it. This is a matter for physicists to address, not only because of the technical issues involved but also because of our community’s approaches to problem solving as well as our international reach, all within the broader context of human values and social justice. The nuclear threat thus exemplifies the powerful new technologies being discovered at an ever-increasing rate, technologies that urgently need society’s thoughtful management.