[Centurion2000]

Van der Worp further argued that this fission reaction might well initiate a much larger thermonuclear fusion reaction in the deuterium (heavy hydrogen) making up a significant percentage of Jupiter’s atmosphere – ultimately, igniting Jupiter as the solar system’s second sun!

And just where did this retard get his degree ..... the nuclear batteries are U-238, NOT 235 and not plutonium.

[Poohbah]

And just where did this retard get his degree ..... the nuclear batteries are U-238, NOT 235 and not plutonium.

Actually, they ARE plutonium.

But the idea that there's enough oomph there to create a runaway burn a la Teller's "Classical Super" is downright silly. There's a reason that the Classical Super wouldn't work: the device would radiate away the heat of the nuclear blast before it could raise the thermonuclear fuel to the ignition point.

[r9etb]

And just where did this retard get his degree ..... the nuclear batteries are U-238, NOT 235 and not plutonium.

Actually, they're PLUTONIUM-238. See here for facts about Galileo's RTGs.

As for the "implosion" thing -- it's completely bogus. A plutonium bomb requires very precise compression, and very high implosion speeds. Atmospheric crushing would be uneven, and very slow.

[RightWhale]

The spacecraft carried several pounds of plutonium packaged in small pieces so there would be no danger of a critical mass in case the launch were aborted.