My grandfather owned a store in Indian Springs and my mother and aunt both worked at the Nevada Test Site (Mercury Labs) in the 1950s.
They had a secret clearance and were not allowed to discuss anything that went on in the place. However, the details of bomb making were well known by outsiders and one guy who came into my grandfather's store seemed to be willing to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the fission process and here's his explanation.
Fission works best at low temperatures (in the lower 1000s of degrees (F) when the velocity of the neutrons is equal to the ambient temperature. This is the so called "moderating" process and it is done by surrounding the fissionable material with graphite. These "thermalized" neutrons have the best chance of creating a critical or supercritical reaction. However once the temperature starts to rise from 1000s of degrees to hundreds of 1000s, then to up in the millions, the graphite melts and vaporizes so the neutrons are no longer moderated.
At millions of degrees, moderation becomes negligible and the reaction eventually stalls. Therefore attempting to build a fission bomb above a certain energy output becomes a case of diminishing returns. However a fusion bomb works very well at high temperatures and there's no limit on the energy output. In 1962, the Soviet Union detonated the largest fusion bomb ever built called Big Ivan which had an energy yield of 50 Megatons.
Hmm. I might be wrong, but I thought all (I think there was a test using slow neutrons that did not work but can't be bothered to look it up) nuclear weapons used fast neutrons.My grandfather owned a store in Indian Springs and my mother and aunt both worked at the Nevada Test Site (Mercury Labs) in the 1950s.
They had a secret clearance and were not allowed to discuss anything that went on in the place. However, the details of bomb making were well known by outsiders and one guy who came into my grandfather's store seemed to be willing to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the fission process and here's his explanation.
Fission works best at low temperatures (in the lower 1000s of degrees (F) when the velocity of the neutrons is equal to the ambient temperature. This is the so called "moderating" process and it is done by surrounding the fissionable material with graphite. These "thermalized" neutrons have the best chance of creating a critical or supercritical reaction. However once the temperature starts to rise from 1000s of degrees to hundreds of 1000s, then to up in the millions, the graphite melts and vaporizes so the neutrons are no longer moderated.
At millions of degrees, moderation becomes negligible and the reaction eventually stalls. Therefore attempting to build a fission bomb above a certain energy output becomes a case of diminishing returns. However a fusion bomb works very well at high temperatures and there's no limit on the energy output. In 1962, the Soviet Union detonated the largest fusion bomb ever built called Big Ivan which had an energy yield of 50 Megatons.
Isn't that dependent on the North Korean leadership's priorities?Something tells me a country like that would have some issues setting off a multistage weapon.
Only to a point. Just because the guy with the bad haircut wants to have a fusion weapon does not mean he will have the resources (raw material, electricity, equipment and ,most importantly, knowledge) to build one.Isn't that dependent on the North Korean leadership's priorities?
I had to scroll back a long way to understand that connection!I guess El Chapo is otherwise occupied now that he has been recaptured.
The only reason I mentioned it in the first place was the attempt by American mobsters, Giancana, Trafficante, and Roselli to assassinate Fidel Castro at the behest of the CIA. Despite numerous attempt which all failed, I guess Fidel has had the last laugh and outlived all of them.I had to scroll back a long way to understand that connection!
Maybe he's saving the pennies from the countries electricity account to fund it. After all, except for a couple of places on that map, the vast majority of the country is darkened.Only to a point. Just because the guy with the bad haircut wants to have a fusion weapon does not mean he will have the resources (raw material, electricity, equipment and ,most importantly, knowledge) to build one.
This is not to say that it is not possible, just unlikely.
Good for you , some people have nothing better to do that show they went to primary school, big thinkers!Oh my... View attachment 97955 MY COVER'S BEEN BLOWN!... now the NSA, CIA, FBI, CBS and HEB are going to know that english is not my birth language!! I'm gonna get deported back to.... wait a minute, I'm already here!
Major it is then, thank you. I stand corrected... and btw, I'm going to leave my previous typo as it is, for posterity's (and humor's) sake.
yeah... and I my deepest sympathies go to the people of Cuba for that...I guess Fidel has had the last laugh and outlived all of them.
I never meant this as a value judgement, just an observation. Maybe the putative assassins were just incompetent and sloppy in their tradecraft.yeah... and I my deepest sympathies go to the people of Cuba for that...