A city in a Third World country is devastated by the accidental explosion of an A-bomb in its armoury. After a brief debate in the UN, all nuclear weapons are destroyed. Available in portable and household units from a few kilowatts upwards, they can produce electricity indefinitely. Central power stations close down and the age of pylons ends as grid systems are dismantled. By a curious coincidence, later in the year even larger marine creatures are discovered when the first robot probes drill through the ice of Europa, and an entire new biota is revealed.
Aerospace planes enter service.
The history of space travel has repeated that of aeronautics, although more slowly, because the technical problems are so much greater. From Gagarin to commercial space flight has taken twice as long as from the Wright Brothers to the DC3. Thus the old dream of alchemy is realised on a commercial scale, often with surprising results. Within a few years, since they are more useful, lead and copper cost twice as much as gold. The megawatt-hour becomes the unit of exchange.