Nuclear bomb possibly found (Unarmed Device dropped in ocean off Georgia during Cold War)

CNN ^ | 9/13/04 | CNN

[Vic3O3]

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[nw_arizona_granny]

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[Blood of Tyrants]

That is true. I forget that plutonium is much easier to create from the plentiful U and thus cheaper than U_235.

[dsc]

"Why would this take 5 years and 23 million bucks?"

Because it's the government?

A private firm could probably do it in a week for 100K$.

[Fred Hayek]

If the explosives do go off accidentally, there is little likelyhood of a fission reaction. If there is, it would be a low yield "fizzle". The implosion around the pit would have to be damn near perfectly symmetrical for the fission trigger to go off. More likely if the 400# of TNT went off, there would be a lot of decontamination work to be done (and pieces of any techs nearby).

[Robert A Cook PE]

Couple hundred pounds of conventional explosives.

(Remember, I never worked on the "conventional" side of the nuclear bombs, so I'm guessing at compositions here.)

Let's pretend that the thermonuclear bomb is made up of a special Plutonium "trigger" wrapped around some Tritium and Lithium and other stuff that goes " BIG BOOM" when the nuclear bomb on the outside goes "Not-quite-so-big-Boom." (Pretend you need to use a Hiroshima-size bomb to set off 20-50 Hiroshima bombs.)

The Plutonium trigger isn't installed, but the bomb still falls away and crashes. So the "Big Boom" can't happen.

The nuclear bomb on the outside is still there. The "nuclear part of that bomb is set off by triggers and a conventional explosive around the nuclear material. It's peacetime, and plane isn't flying towards Russia, so the triggers and arming devices aren't installed. Like the shells from the WWI battles the rest just sits there.

But the chemical explosives are chemical mixes, and settle and separate and react slowly.

TNT for example, is made up of nitroglycerin mixed in a kind of a fine clay. Over long periods of time, the nitro settles into a little poolof liquid on the bottom of the old bombs, and likenitro anywhere can explode if it is just jiggled.

So, this long after the bomb is sitting there, the chemical explosives are much, much more likely to go off just by bumping the bomb, or by hooking a crane wire to the casing.

Its safer to just let it sit.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Yuppers.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Give underwater robotics, and undersea exploration work a few more years, an dthis can be done remotely.

Cost goes down, time goes down. Risk is reduced.

(Anybody want to start an underwater robotics company, apply for guvment grants to recover A-bombs?)

[EricT.]

I used to work at a weapon storage facility. There are multiple safeguard levels on our weapons. They are impossible to arm without knowing EXACTLY how. The worst thing that can happen is that if the high explosive in it detonates, there will be a radioactive debris field to clean up.

[Leatherneck_MT]

Well, as I said, I am no expert in this field so I will bow to those who are lol. If ya'll say it won't explode, then I'll take your word for it.

I just pray for those in and around Chatham county that you are correct.

[New Perspective]

The timing of this is suspicious............

[RockyMtnMan]

Doesn't this article conflict with itself? First it states it was a hydrogen bomb, like Fat Man. Then it describes it as a thermo-nuclear bomb which implies a Bravo style design.

What kind of capability did we have during this time frame? Any Nuke buffs out there that could give us a rundown?

[spodefly]

As this bomb is located in the coastal waters of Georgia, this bomb rightfully belongs to the People of the Great State of Georgia. This makes us a nuclear power.

So listen up Kim Ill Jung -- Washington may be circumspect when it comes to the use of nuclear weapons, but Georgia will nuke your ass in a heartbeat, so you best get your act together. And all you jihadis -- unless you want to spend eternity encased in glass, stay out of Georgia.

And you don't even want to know the message from the nuclear power of Georgia to the cities of Ithica, Berkeley, Austin, and Madison, or the state of New Jersey.

[gutshot]

I thought hydrogen bombs were thermonuclear. At least that's what the salesman told me.

[gutshot]

It has always bothered me that the borders of the Florida panhandle were drawn to deprive Georgia of access to the Gulf of Mexico. Now that Georgia is a nuclear power, she should annex the panhandle as part of manifest destiny and declare Pensacola to be her 19th province.

[Zathras]

Right, if the core is missing than its just a very large chunk of U238 and totally harmless except the HE shell.

[Robert A Cook PE]

The article was not well enough written to inform "you" of that, and the "writer" was not well-enough informed to know that he wasn't telling you the the difference.

(This thing was written from an AF script, to an audience who had no idea what they were listening to.

In other words, typical ow-quality pre-pajama-clad warrior MSM.

[spodefly]

It has always bothered me that the borders of the Florida panhandle were drawn to deprive Georgia of access to the Gulf of Mexico. Now that Georgia is a nuclear power, she should annex the panhandle as part of manifest destiny and declare Pensacola to be her 19th province.

You think like a Georgian, my man. But I was going to recommend we go for everything north of Orlando.

[Robert A Cook PE]

OK.

As long as we can concede Atlanta to Miami, and keep Destin, Orlando, Cocoa Beach, and Pensacola for GA.

After FL cleans up Pensacola, that is.

I don't want no FL hurricane debris in GA, hear?

[RockyMtnMan]

I know there is a significant difference between the earlier single stage atomic bombs and the later two stage bombs. I guess I've never heard of H bombs described as being "thermonuclear" before, I always thought that designation was reserved for FFF (Fission Fusion Fission) type bombs, ie they achieve fusion.