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In order to attain a nuclear chain reaction, the explosives timing needs to be precisely controlled so that all 360 degrees of the core is compressed by the explosion uniformly to within thousands of microseconds. That kind of accuracy requires maintenance or replacement of resistor networks, capacitors, software, firmware, clock oscillators, and the conventional explosives that compress the fissile material.

This is precisely why nuclear testing bans were so scary. A country could have plenty of bombs, but it's uncertain if they still work without testing and the deterioration tables that can be extrapalated from such testing. The replacement components are easy to track too. Resistors and capacitors manufactured to within plus or minus .0002% are not exactly easy to come by. Commercial stuff is plus or minus 5%, and military spec stuff is plus or minus 2%. They perform differently based on outside air temperature, barometric pressure, and age.

Ever try to use a 900MHZ cordless phone or monitor in a below zero environment? If it's commercial, it's worthless in two minutes.

Resistors and capacitors manufactured to within plus or minus .0002% are not exactly easy to come by. Commercial stuff is plus or minus 5%, and military spec stuff is plus or minus 2%.

Sorry, but this can easily be accomplished. Purchase a large enough lot and do it by selection of matched components rather than by manufacture to a particular spec.

The replacement components are easy to track too. Resistors and capacitors manufactured to within plus or minus .0002% are not exactly easy to come by.

So? Buy a bushel of 1% components and test them until you find some that are close enough to work in your gadget.

In order to attain a nuclear chain reaction, the explosives timing needs to be precisely controlled so that all 360 degrees of the core is compressed by the explosion uniformly to within thousands of microseconds. That kind of accuracy requires maintenance or replacement of resistor networks, capacitors, software, firmware, clock oscillators, and the conventional explosives that compress the fissile material.

What makes you think they'd use an implosion device, when a simple gun device obviates all need for precision timing, triggers, shaped charges, electronics, blah blah blah?

Of course, the devil -- in this case -- in in only one detail: They'd need to get their grubbies on some HEU, which is why the US and Russia have been scrambling to get all of it under lock and key from a variety of research/edu/etc. facilities in Eastern Europe as of late.

Of course so much of the stuff has been manufactured over the years, much of which (courtesy of the $&#&*# USSR) has not been accounted for (and then there's North Korea, and other rogue nations capable of spinning some centrifugen), so no matter how much we and the Russians manage to get under lock and key, it still doesn't prove the negative, so to speak. In other words, we can go snarfing up HEU 'till the cows come home, but the only thing we'll know for certain is that the actual HEU the US/Ruskie teams captured is off the market. There's no way to know about any other HEU that might be out there.

Anyway, my point is that we should not take comfort in the difficulty involved in setting off a successful plutonium implosion device, because if the bastards get their hands on some weapons grade uranium, the only "technology" they'll need is a saw, to cut down the barrel of an old field artillery piece.