OT: Superb Applied Science Video on Plutonium Bomb

A superb succinct information rich video.

Last time I read up on all this (long ago) details were still classified. Designing the means to ignite the Plutonium atomic bomb was a stunning piece of extremely rapid applied science by super stars Oppenheimer, Feynmann, von Neumann, and hundreds of brave wookies in the woods near the experiment…

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Good video. I learned a few things about how they tested for even compression of the plutonium pit.

These problems with plutonium are why people should not be worried about the proliferation concerns surrounding the reprocessing of spent fuel from commercial nuclear reactors. The plutonium produced in a commercial power plant is of poor quality for making a bomb. Real “weapons-grade” plutonium has a very high percentage of Pu-239. The “reactor-grade” plutonium that comes out of a commercial power plant has too much Pu-240 and other isotopes that make constructing a reliable bomb almost impossible. It would be far easier to make real weapons-grade material in a specialized reactor constructed for that purpose.

  • Pete
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