The ATOM Museum: the arms race, power plants, uranium and plutonium!

At the weekend, I visited the highly recommended ATOM Museum at the VDNKh exhibition complex in northern Moscow. And I can report that it’s an absolute delight! Simply must-visit for the whole family – if you find yourself in the Russian capital, that is…

In the entrance hall – straight down to business: a scale model of… can you guess which element?*

From the beginning of the nuclear arms race through to the modern-day achievements of Russia’s (peaceful) nuclear-energy industry – there’s a lot covered here (and in great detail). The main downside: no history of the early research (Marie Curie, Pierre Curie, and all that). But everything else is well-organized and informative.

In we go – and downward: to the minus-third floor…

When the Americans dropped their atomic bombs on Hiroshima (haven’t been) and Nagasaki (have been), the Soviet Union realized it could be the next target (later, according to some sources – confirmed). And that realization marked the beginning the race to create the first Soviet atomic bomb…

Interestingly, the first uranium required for making the first Russian atom bomb was “contributed” by… Germany! This is also covered and visually demonstrated here…

Uranium barrels were taken out of East Germany – but that still wasn’t nearly enough!…

Next began the race for procuring uranium-235. After all, for the Soviets to create their own bomb (read: to save lives), much, much more was needed! This is both clearly explained and demonstrated here – as is uranium enrichment, reactors for weapons-grade plutonium production, and more…

Back then, the USSR had to strain itself immensely – especially considering the catastrophic situation in the late 1940s after the brutal war. Imagine: after years of hellish struggle, famine, cold, deprivation, and millions of deaths and casualties, you finally win! But then, your “main potential strategic partner” suddenly has a super bomb – just like it used on the Japanese in August 1945 – and is ready to turn you into dust. So there was only one thing to do: search for uranium, build factories, invest (extraordinarily) heavily in production and testing, and so on…

The first tangible result of these herculean efforts as a country were producing this much enriched uranium…

…Which was loaded into a bomb like this one:

But first, into this “gadget”:

And then it was detonated! And kept secret. Why?…

…Because the USSR had only one nuclear charge! It was used – and that was that. Next, we needed industrial-scale production. Why? Because if you don’t have an actual – credible – nuclear deterrent, someone across the ocean could… let’s not even contemplate it.

And so it began…

What’s great about the museum is its recreation of the atmosphere and décor of those times. For example, here’s a factory entrance:

The museum presents two worlds side by side. On the right – a typical American kitchen. On the left – not quite average, but a Soviet post-war one (Russians didn’t even know what a TV was back then!).

Early on, the nuclear balance was not in our favor – big time:

But time passed and things changed – including decorations )

And then – a breakthrough: the Tsar Bomba!

And that brought about balance: both sides came together, talked, and agreed not to scare each other anymore; phew. All righty; time to move on to peaceful uses of nuclear energy…

The peaceful nuclear topic is much broader but a lot less dramatic. Sure, you could stand right on a working RBMK reactor – but that’s a rare privilege. Generally, nuclear power plants are an extremely complex, science-intensive technology, but ultimately they also represent the cheapest and most environmentally friendly way to boil water generate electricity. And the ATOM Museum explains and beautifully demonstrates this:

Nuclear fuel rod scale models – this is what they actually look like:

Don’t believe it? Scan the QR code:

Also showcased are fuel elements for next-generation fast-neutron reactors – an area where Russia leads the world. Hooray! ->

The “Nuclear Power Plant Show” – just in case you still don’t know that nuclear power plants are basically giant water boilers :) ->

Then there’s the “Atomarium” – a must-visit with kids. It explains physics concepts in an accessible way: gravity, waves, optical illusions, Einstein’s theory of everything, and much more: