The theoretical physicist and co-creator of loop quantum gravity Carlo Rovelli has published a book not about physics but about the looming danger of nuclear catastrophe

The theoretical physicist and co-creator of loop quantum gravity Carlo Rovelli has published a book not about physics but about the looming danger of nuclear catastrophe. The book is called "85 Seconds to Midnight: A Physicist's Case Against Rearmament".

The title refers to the Doomsday Clock. In January 2026 the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set it at 85 seconds to midnight, closer to nuclear catastrophe than ever before.

Rovelli rewrites the history of the bomb: how it came into being, why Germany never built it, why the United States used it, which catastrophes were narrowly averted during the Cold War. Of those who took part in the weapons programmes he speaks as "the bad conscience of my profession, theoretical physics".

A well-known physicist speaking out against nuclear escalation is nothing new, but it sounds rather unusual that Rovelli condemns precisely the current round of Western rearmament. This, naturally, is problematic for the greater part of his audience. And, of course, the critics did not miss the chance to condemn him at once for his historical parallels and for remarks such as "Germany is arming itself again".