Month: April 2021

Enlarge / A "Restricted Data" classification stamp on a document from the US Atomic Energy Commission in the early 1950s. The document pertains to the classification of opacity calculations that were part of the work on the hydrogen bomb. The document is no longer classified and is available in the US National Archives. (credit: Alexander Wellerstein/CC-BY-3.0)

The revolutionary discovery of nuclear fission in December 1938 helped launch the atomic age, bringing with it a unique need for secrecy regarding the scientific and technical underpinnings of nuclear weapons. This secrecy evolved into a special category of proscribed information, dubbed "Restricted Data," which is still in place today. Historian Alex Wellerstein spent over ten years researching various aspects of nuclear secrecy, and his first book, Restricted Data: The History of Nuclear Secrecy in the United States (University of Chicago Press), was released earlier this month.

Wellerstein is a historian of science at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, where his research centers on the history of nuclear weapons and nuclear history. (Fun fact: he served as a historical consultant on the short-lived TV series Manhattan.) A self-described "dedicated archive rat," Wellerstein maintains several homemade databases to keep track of all the digitized files he has accumulated over the years from official, private, and personal archives. The bits that don't find their way into academic papers typically end up as items on his blog, Restricted Data, where he also maintains the NUKEMAP, an interactive tool that enables users to model the impact of various types of nuclear weapons on the geographical location of their choice.

The scope of Wellerstein's thought-provoking book spans the scientific origins of the atomic bomb in the late 1930s all the way through the early 21st century. Each chapter chronicles a key shift in how the US approach to nuclear secrecy gradually evolved over the ensuing decades—and how it still shapes our thinking about nuclear weapons and secrecy today.

Enlarge / One of the new products Apple will launch in May: the 2021 Apple TV 4K and its new remote. (credit: Apple)

When Apple announced the new iPad Pro, 24-inch iMac, and Apple TV 4K models during its April 20 livestreamed event, the company said those products would launch "in the second half of May" but didn't get more specific beyond that. Now, multiple apparent leaks—including one on Apple's website—have pointed to a more specific date: May 21.

Prolific Apple news leaker Jon Prosser named May 21 as the launch date for some of the products, and UK retailer John Lewis' product page for the new iPad Pro carried copy saying, "Available 21 May 2021," as discovered by MacRumors and other Apple rumor sites.

Adding further fuel to the fire, Apple today published a short post to its Newsroom site—essentially the public-facing company blog—reminding customers that they can pre-order these products starting tomorrow, April 30. That short post didn't say May 21—but some of the metadata on the post did. Apple has since removed the metadata referencing that date.

Enlarge (credit: lechatnoir / Getty)

Stock in Uber is down more than 6 percent after President Joe Biden's new labor secretary, Marty Walsh, told Reuters that drivers are employees under US labor law.

Stock in Lyft, whose business is more concentrated in the United States, is down 11 percent. DoorDash, which heavily uses contract workers for food deliveries, saw its stock fall by 8 percent. The S&P 500 stock index is up slightly.

The legal status of workers driving for Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash has become a controversial issue around the world. The companies argue that the contractor model allows them to not only operate more efficiently but also offer drivers increased flexibility. Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash argue that if they were forced to pay drivers by the hour, the companies would have to not only raise fares but also restrict drivers' hours to make sure drivers only work at times when there are enough customers to keep them busy.