Posted on 09/06/2017 5:40:49 AM PDT by C19fan
North Korea’s sixth nuclear test on Sunday released 140 kilotons of TNT equivalent, according to a new U.S. intelligence assessment. The margin of error on the early U.S. assessment is not known and the specific explosive yield figure may be revised, but the U.S. intelligence community assesses this device to have been several times more powerful than North Korea’s previously most powerful nuclear test in September 2016.
(Excerpt) Read more at thediplomat.com ...
A "hydrogen bomb" has traditionally meant a two-stage weapon - where a fission bomb is used as an X-ray source to compress and cause fusion in the "secondary." Even then, the secondary fusion reaction is really only used as a neutron source for another fission reaction. Most of the explosive yield of a two-stage weapon is from the second fission reaction.
A boosted fission device is basically one that has Hydrogen isotopes - Tritium and Deuterium - present in the pit/core. Under compression and nuclear bombardment as the fission reaction gets under way the isotopes fuse into Helium and free neutrons. These neutrons help "boost" the initial fission chain reaction resulting in a much more energetic fission reaction.
Apparently, if the various Wikipedia articles are to be believed, boosting a fission reaction is relatively simple compared to actually achieving a fission weapon. So there is really no good reason not to boost once you've got a working fission weapon. That takes you from the realm of a couple dozen Kt yield up into the several hundred Kt yield range. Apparently, controlling the amount of Tritium and Deuterium allowed into the pit is how some of our early "dial a yield" weapons worked.
The stuff I know about is public record. There is a lot of material available on the subject in various books and publications. I'm sure some of what they learned was a consequence of Clinton's transferring technology to them, but much of it is simply available to anyone interested in the subject.
Yes, very nasty stuff. Lots of secondaries.
Are they making their own tritium?
We should offer Taiwan the bomb in exchange. Let China lose something
if it keeps helping N. Korea.
By design, not because we have no choice in the matter. The Technology difference between A-bomb and H-bomb is quite substantial. It took the best scientists in the world another seven years to figure out how to make a successful Fusion bomb with all the resources of the United States.
If the Norks have done it, it can only be because someone gave them the design and possibly some components as well.
That's an interesting idea. China may realize that allowing their pet idiot to play with fire will have much worse consequences for them in the long run.
Do we have the balls to offer Taiwan nukes? With Trump, maybe.
North Korea can mine uranium in their own country. They can produce plutonium in multiple nuclear reactors. Apparently they also have a program to produce highly enriched uranium.
That’s what I have suspected since day 1 of this test, “just” a boosted fission device. It’s a fairly simple upgrade to a normal fission device and nowhere near as complex to implement.
Now that would be something. The red Chinese would be furious to the point of insanity. They might even attack us.
“That’s an interesting idea. China may realize that allowing their pet idiot to play with fire will have much worse consequences for them in the long run.
Do we have the balls to offer Taiwan nukes? With Trump, maybe.”
Methinks that we will find out very quickly whether and to what degree China has influence in NK. If they do nothing - or CAN do nothing - then we’ll have a very valuable piece of information. Then we can deal with NK as we see fit.
“strongLY” urge, not “strongER” - damned auto-correct.
I take it you’re on the left coast?
Nah, but we’re all gonna die.
“As a comparison the Trident III carries the W-76 a 100 KT weapon”
Yeah, but it carries 10 of them. It could carry 14.
140 kt makes a 6.3 erfquake? Color me skeptical.
> My real question is why President Trump is not focusing on EMP defense.
What, a Giant Economy Size Faraday cage?
Actually hardening our national electronic infrastructure, never mind all the business and personal electronics, would take decades, and completely change how we communicate. And power transmission. And transportation. And....
But yeah, somebody has to get the process underway.
Luckily the military has been doing this for decades already.
China, Russia, and Iran...
Perhaps it's worth noting that Hillary Clinton gave Russia 20% of the uranium produced in America.
I guess it would be reasonable to add us to that list.
Oh.
Even the US has been supplying them with oil, food, and a nuclear reactor.
We're there.
nvrmnd
It’s not out of the realm of possibility they in fact developed this technology independently.
Because it escapes your understanding doesn’t mean it escapes theirs. Most of their physicists are well educated in places like Europe, Russia and China.
Materials support need not happen to effect a nuclear program such as NK’s program.
Historically speaking we’ve seen other countries progress well past NK without outside support.
It’s not the knowledge, it’s the manufacturing capability.
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