ONE of York's more unusual tourist attractions will play its part in explaining the mysteries of nuclear physics tomorrow.

The University of York and English Heritage have teamed up to host a talk at the York Cold War Bunker, in Holgate, which will cover issues such as why atoms are radioactive and how much radiation we are exposed to during our lives. It is part of National Science and Engineering Week and will include a tour of the bunker and interactive demonstrations by university researchers.

The event starts at 6.30pm tomorrow and places, which cost £4, can be booked by phoning 01904 646940.

The bunker, built in 1961, was designed to be a centre for monitoring fall-out if nuclear war broke out. It was abandoned in 1991 and subsequently taken over by English Heritage in 1991, complete with radiation meters, decontamination showers and other equipment from the days when the relationship between East and West was on a knife-edge.

Site manager Rachael Bowers said: "The bunker is an incredibly atmospheric location in which to learn about the history of nucleat physics, in the very place where operations were planned to deal with the fall-out of a nuclear attack."