To: Poohbah
But my understanding is that we CAN detect origins of virtually any element due to various idiosyncrasies geographically. Is that true?
And, I was hoping for more of a your typically thought-out treatments of the question.
Were you in Condi's position to Bush or the Joint Chief's . . . what would you recommend? Seriously.
2,885 posted on
12/22/2003 3:12:30 PM PST by
Quix
(Choose this day whom U will serve: Shrillery & demonic goons or The King of Kings and Lord of Lords)
To: Quix
But my understanding is that we CAN detect origins of virtually any element due to various idiosyncrasies geographically. Is that true?It's possible, but not 100% certain. It's not the geographic origin, but instead how the plutonium is "cooked" in the nuclear reactor (plutonium is not mined; it is made by bombarding Uranium 238 in a reactor). If we have a sample of the material in question (such as, for example, an assay from a bomb pit that we helped Ivan scrap under the Nunn-Lugar program, or just simple espionage), we'll figure out where it was made.
2,892 posted on
12/22/2003 3:18:33 PM PST by
Poohbah
("Beware the fury of a patient man" -- John Dryden)
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