Nuclear weapons: Who has what?

BBC ^ | 11 February, 2005

[sukhoi-30mki]

Oooopssss!!!!!!You were right on the Ohios-there are only 14(original number was 18).

[FreedomCalls]

Watch the video of an underground nuclear test.

http://media2.big-boys.com/nuketest.wmv

Incredible power!

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

Wasn't pre-Mandela South Africa rumored to have one or more nukes (courtesy of Israel)?

[UCANSEE2]

mark

[sukhoi-30mki]

Atleast 6 nukes were believed to have been assembled by the apartheid regime.

[steve86]

A thermonuclear warhead is one thing. A gun-type "slam" device is quite another. I believe even the simplest fission-type device in the hands of an unstable state is a reason for concern.

[Huntingtonian]

Yes, here is the story:

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/rsa/nuke/

It was mothballed prior to the transition from apartheid.

[FreedomCalls]

Wasn't pre-Mandela South Africa rumored to have one or more nukes (courtesy of Israel)?

The previous white government destroyed them all before handing over power to Mandela. They destroyed the nukes, destroyed the factories to produce them, and burned all the plans and documentation. Scorched earth policy.

[FreedomCalls]

How to build a nuke from smoke detectors

That link's wrong on so many counts I can't begin to list them. Such a device will not detonate.

[pepsionice]

South Africa was rumored to be involved with a Isreal research project. But some of the story indicated that it was a private company involved, and that the actual SA government didn't know anything much about the deal. There was a suggestion at some point of a test off the coast (underwater), and that it was discovered via the US government, who hinted to SA government that they ought to control things more. My guess is that the research continued on...just in another location.

I should add that nuclear research wasn't the only thing that SA companies were involved in. Bio warfare were also rumored with various other governments...again, under a commerical cover, with no SA government knowledge. Lets face it...the SA government hasn't really been that competent over the past 100 years. You shouldn't expect too much out of these guys.

[FreedomCalls]

That's a Teller/Ulam two-stage device. There are other configurations.

And "dial" is misspelled.

[FreedomCalls]

But really, what could stop, say, Norway from going nuclear?

Self-control?

[Rca2000]

I have to laugh. A nuclear weapon from smoke detectors. Now, I am NOT saying, that, with the proper enrichment, containment, triggering means, etc, that americium -241 COULDN't be made, to be a weapons-grade fuel,(but, probably not), BUT-- the very thought of some IDIOT thinking, that with a little gunpowder, pipes and tennis balls, you could fashion a working implosion assembly for a nuke. Obviously, this whole thing is a joke, and the feds must realize this, or it would not be on the net.

To begin with, the GENERAL design of a "nuclear trigger", or the "primary" section of a nuclear warhead, is and has been for a long time, public domain information, as shown in the diagram in an earlier post. BUT-- that diagram does NOT show the absolutely incredibly critical calculations and precise measurements, and such, that go into the design of the primary. When talking about sustaining a nuclear fission explosion, error tolerances for inaccuracies are in the NANOSECOND range, and ,if EVERYTHING, and I mean everything, is not right, for example, if one explosive "lens" detonates at a couple of microseconds too late, then, all you will get, is a small explosion, from the chemical explosives, and a serious amount of radioactive dust blown in many directions, in other words, a "dirty bomb".

To iniate an primary explosion, the chemical explosives must create a TOTALLY symmetrical wave, of compression, to crush the fissile material into a critical mass. Then too, is the NOT so small, matter of the neutron initiator. There must be some free neutrons injected into the core, to get the chain reaction started. ALSO, as shown in the diagram, there is the tritium/ deuterium gas , needed to "boost " the primary, so that it will deliver the proper nuclear yield, in heat and x-rays, needed to implode the secondary, and cause it to go to a fusion state,, BEFORE the explosive force, shatters everything into pieces. AGAIN, we are talking about a few microseconds. If the tritium boost is not correct, the primary will not deliver the proper yield, and the secondary will not function, and the result will be a small nuclear yield, with no multiplication from the fusion secondary,(which is where most of the yield in modern nuclear warheads comes from) known as a "fizzile". This, the depletion of the tritium reservoirs, is one of the problems facing our nuclear stockpile in this country, at this moment.

In short, good for a laugh, but that is all. Showing someone the diagram of a nuclear weapon, but no numerical details, or such, and then, expecting them to bulid a working device, is a lot like showing a builder a plan for a building, with no archeticual dimensions, and expecting them to build it.

[Squantos]

The story in original form.......

http://www.dangerouslaboratories.org/radscout.html

David Hahn was quiet the free thinker !

[Squantos]

My # 34......

[Rca2000]

Yes, there are other configurations, like those using a spherical thermonuclear secondary, but ALL h-bomb weapons, require a fission primary, to trigger the secondary, so it will generate the fusion yield, and the most compact, bang-for-you-buck primary design is the spherical implosion assembly, even though the "gun" assembly is simpler, and more reliable, it requires more fuel, and produces less yield, than the implosion design.

I DO agree though.... A "gun" type fission device, of simple design, one that could do TREMENDOUS damage,COULD be made by a terrorist organization.. IF they could get enough HEU fuel to build it. THAT, is the key, keep the weapons-grade fuel, OUT of the hands of our enemies.

[familyop]

Wow. It even has the element for the plasma. I thought all of that was at least somewhat class'd. ...bummer that it's not.

[freebilly]

David Hahn is now in the Navy, where he reads about steroids, melanin, genetic codes, prototype reactors, amino acids and criminal law. "I wanted to make a scratch in life," he explains now. "I've still got time." Of his exposure to radioactivity he says, "I don't believe I took more than five years off my life."

Whoa!

[Centurion2000]

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