Drudge: WashPost to report US/Russian Team Seize 37-lbs of Highly Enriched Uranium ...

Drudge Report of WashPost ^ | Dec 23, 2003 | Drudge

[mikegi]

US/Russian Team Seize 37-Pounds Highly Enriched Uranium from Bulgarian Plant, WASH POST Planning To Report On Weds... Developing...

[CurlyDave]

Did anyone else notice two things:

1. 37 lbs = 1/3 of 110 lbs. If a shipment were divided into three equal parts, this would leave two of those parts missing right now. Is 74 lbs enough to do anything?

2. Detonating bomb over Manhattan is definitely more efficient. Now couple this with the stories of Al Queda having fully qualified airline pilots and you have the next generation suicide bomber.

BTW, this has an interesting wrinkle. If the gun fires, but for some reason the bomb does not fission, fly the aircraft to some foreign location and recover the HEU.

It may be possible to design a bomb which would not destroy the aircraft if it fizzled. May not even be possible to tell anything happened from the ground.

[Prime Choice]

Yes, I have no problem volunteering to remove/de-fuse/demil whatever is left of a fizzle.

If the time comes we ever have to deal with an ol' Sparky, I'll hold you to that. ; )

[rushfreedom]

Dejavo - I heard this before. See the AP report below. Dated 09/29/2002

This my friends, is why we attacked Iraq. ========================================================= Turkey Seizes Weapons-Grade Uranium Captured weapons-grade uranium is displayed at the paramilitary police headquarters in Sanliurfa, southeastern Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2002. Turkish paramilitary police have seized 15.7 kilograms (34.54 pounds) of uranium and arrested two Turks who they said planned to sell the weapons-grade substance, the Anatolia news agency reported. Sanliurfa, some 800 kilometers (480 miles) from the capital Ankara, is close to the Syrian border. (AP Photo/Ercan Akkar/Anatolia)

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) _ Paramilitary police have seized about 35 pounds of uranium and arrested two Turks who they said planned to sell the weapons-grade substance, the Anatolia news agency reported Saturday.)

Police, acting on a tip, stopped a taxi on a highway near the southeastern city of Sanliurfa, Anatolia said. They found the uranium in a secret compartment under one of the car seats.)

Police in Sanliurfa confirmed the arrests but refused to give further information.)

Anatolia said the uranium was enriched for use in weapons. Police believe it was smuggled from an eastern European country.)

The agency did not say when the arrests were made. Sanliurfa, some 480 miles from Ankara, is close to the Syrian border.)

Copyright 2002, AP News All Rights Reserved

[mikegi]

... Arthur Compton ...

Don't you think Compton should have his Nobel Prize revoked? You know, the one for the Compton Effect that supposedly proved quantum mechanics? In his original paper he noted how the angular-dependence of wavelength of scattered radiation didn't require QM (it's just a double relativistic Doppler shift). In more modern times it's been shown that that energy and momentum transfer doesn't require QM, either - electromagnetism and relativity handle it perfectly.

[b4its2late]

U.S. authorities have begun stepping up such joint operations with the Russians. In August 2002, a team from the two countries retrieved 100 pounds of weapons-grade uranium from an aging reactor in Yugoslavia. The second seizure of uranium took place three months ago, when 30 pounds was removed from a facility in Romania.

Yep. You're right. And it isn't the first time nor will it be the last time this is done.

[mikegi]

As an aside, which would you find more unnerving: a detonated nuclear bomb...or a dud? If the former, would you volunteer to defuse the latter? This question was posed to me once, years ago. I'd be interested in your answer.

Barging in here. Me? Hell, I'm afraid to go near a dud firecracker!

[Calvin Locke]

Weight-wise, Depleted Uranium is about 1.7 that of Lead.

It's left as an exercise to compute the weight of the extra neutrons (HEU-DU).

I'm guessing (from a distant memory of a bag of lead shot) that amount of HEU would fill apporximately 1/4 of a typical shoebox, at most.

[stripes1776]

I suspect that having 10's of millions to hire the best out of work Russians, Bulgarians, etc.

What do they need Russians or Bulgarians for when they have the Pakistanis supplying nuclear material to them from their lab paid for by the Saudis?

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

Constructing a thermonuclear device is not as easy as you make it sound.

Terrorists are not technically advanced enough to produce a detonator or the timing mechanism necessary for supercritical mass.

You claim that all that is necessary for achieving supercritical mass, is to cast a convex and concave sphere from the same die, and there you have it! All of which can be achieved from inside any average garage. In other words, there just ain't nothing to it!

The electricly charged hexaflouride suspention medium you speak of is also difficult to envision. Just what would be it's purpose? Since it is required to drive the isotope's core into the outer sphere, how would that work?

In the case of "FAT MAN", R. Oppenheimer and his team used a U-238 outer shell and a plutonium core, which allowed them to use a 22 pound core instead of the original 35 pound core as first therorized.

"LITTLE BOY" was constructed solely from U-238 and it required 100 Kg (or 220 pounds) of U-238. This material was so much more advanced than simple "Enriched Uranium" all of which is extremely dangerous to work with. Anyone directly exposed to this material would only last a few hours afterwards. But really, easily accomplished in any ones garage?

[BushMeister]

[Swordmaker]

How much would 37 lbs. of Uranium weigh?

This question belongs on DU...

A Freeper would know that it weighs 16.782904 Kilograms

[COEXERJ145]

The Nagasaki bomb held 35 pounds of Plutonium with a 32-part implosion detonator coupled with a Beryllium/Polonium injector in order to facilitate the chain reaction. That bomb also had a 12.5 kilton explosive yield.

Actually, "Fat Man" detonated with a yield of around 20 kilotons.

"LITTLE BOY" was constructed solely from U-238 and it required 100 Kg (or 220 pounds) of U-238.

"Little Boy" used Uranium 235 as its nuclear fuel. We had to use almost every bit of U-235 available to create just one bomb. Plutonium was easier to produce than U-235 was to separate so that is why Plutonium was used in both "Trinity" and "Fat Man". It would have been months before another Uranium gun weapon would have been ready where as there was enough Plutonium for three bombs and plenty more on the way.

[Prime Choice]

Constructing a thermonuclear device is not as easy as you make it sound.

I wasn't talking about thermonuclear bombs. Thermonuclear bombs are fusion bombs. I was talking about fission bombs.

[Prime Choice]

"LITTLE BOY" was constructed solely from U-238 and it required 100 Kg (or 220 pounds) of U-238.

I'm sorry, but you're wrong. Little Boy was made of 110 pounds (50 kgs) of U-235. You're off on both your weights and Uranium types.

[Swordmaker]

With 110 pounds of HEU, it'd be trivial. With only 37 pounds, it is within our technological capacity...but not theirs.

Of course there just MIGHT be three shipments... 37 Lbs X 3 = 111 LBs = BOOM!

What the other person failed to note is that a 12.5 kilton bomb could not "level Manhattan" unless it was detonated above Manhattan. If detonated on the ground, the explosive force would be considerably reduced.

Above is not so difficult if you have suicide pilots again.

Or suicide elevator operators...

[Swordmaker]

Thanks for the detailed opinion. So the common terrorist is too low tech to build a real nuke, without outside help. (that we pray they cant get) But would they pursue the highly enriched stuff for a dirty bomb? Or is there something that would work as well that is easier to get?

I think our real worry from terrorists are the 100 or so ADM (Atomic Demolition Munitions) produced by the now extinct Soviet Union. It is uncertain if all of these ADMs are accounted for... and some may be in circulation for sale to the highest bidder.

These are only 1 kiloton nukes... but still can do a heck of a lot of damage.

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

I believe you have some of your facts wrong: The Facts

[nuconvert]

pong

[Mr. Mojo]

I'd like to do my part for world peace by seizing about 1/4 OZ of highly enriched Colombian.

I haven't seen Colombian since the 70's. .....Probably because much the stuff grown after that was "enriched" with paraquat.

[COEXERJ145]

Uh, no I don't.