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To: Weight of Glory; steveegg

The production of Plutonium by "breeding" is more a function of neutron flux, and not amount of U238 present in the core. So a properly designed reactor using enriched uranium as fuel can create as much (or more) Plutonium than a natural uranium/heavy water reactor. Since a typical fission releases 2 to 3 neutrons (2.43 is average), and when at power, only 1 of the 2.43 neutrons is needed to sustain the power at the same level, the other 1.43 neutrons must no create fissions - but should, optimally, be captured by fertile material. A heavy water reactor is much larger, so less leakage ... but a "seed and blanket" design reactor has the smaller core surrounded by fertile material to capture the neutrons.

Iran is following 2 paths, much like the U.S. in the Manhatten Project. Uranium bombs are supposedly easier to build, but require high enrichment, which is very difficult to do. Plutonium bombs are more complex, but chemical separation of Plutonium from the reactor fuel is much easier than isotopic separation of U235 from U238. The U.S. had gaseous diffusion plants in Tennessee to enrich Uranium ... while they had power reactors and Plutonium extraction process plants in Hanford, WA for the Plutonium side of the effort. Both efforts came to fruition about the same time. The first test bomb (the Trinity test in New Mexico) was a Plutonium bomb/ Hiroshima was a Uranium bomb ... and Nagasaki was the second Plutonium bomb.

Mike


32 posted on 08/26/2006 10:10:27 AM PDT by Vineyard
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To: Vineyard

Vineyard,
Thank you for the information. It was quite helpful


33 posted on 08/26/2006 10:17:26 AM PDT by Weight of Glory
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