Bharat Rakshak

Oh my !!

Oh wow it was published 4 months ago in Feb 2008.

I don't see what all the fuss is about. I looked at it, and it doesn't seem to say anything new or revealing. You can get the same from reading a Tom Clancy novel. Big deal.

Kyuon Miya aap tou chupay rustam ho:

Beyond testing a thermonuclear device, the Indian scientists may have pursued another portentous breakthrough. Press accounts hinted that the "low yield" device tested on May 11 was composed of non-weapon-grade plutonium. Subsequent interviews by the author with knowledgeable Indian source confirmed this

Okay I don't follow. Portentous for whom-India's nuclear program, the level of global technology??

Fourth Generation Nuclear Weapons: Military effectiveness and collateral effects
http://arxiv.org/pdf/physics/0510071v1

> Press accounts hinted that the "low yield" device tested on May 11 was
> composed of non-weapon-grade plutonium. Subsequent interviews by
> the author with knowledgeable Indian source confirmed this

I'm no nuclear scientist but I rumour was that thorium was used in place of plutonium for one of the tests. Again I have no knowledge of nuclear physics to know whether this is even practical. Supposedly it was mentioned that using thorium would significantly lower the yield..but since India has a lot of it, there will be no problems supply side.

Read the entire thing.
It really drives home the need for an ICF facility, something that Arun_S has mentioned several times. It is quite sobering.

The author complains about the assistance from LLNL to Germany with their super laser ICF but doesn't actually state the obvious - this sort of help to a NNWS by a NWS violates article 1 of the NPT.

The author makes the point that Germany, Japan etc, because of their ICF research and access to reactor grade Pu are already virtual thermonuclear super-powers, able to deploy enormous arsenals of very sophisticated TN weapons at short notice.

Only ICF provides the opportunity to understand the physics of the secondary burn.. essential to developing advanced TN 2nd gen weapons in the absence of prolonged testing. Without it, there is no hope for developing 4th gen weapons.

You mean fusion research tech can be used to develop thermonuclear weapons.
But Germany, Japan, etc are open to inspections, whereas we don't want that.

India can research ICF on its own, I suppose.

American accused of giving nuclear secrets to Israel

U.S. Army Engineer Charged In Giving Israeli Consulate Nuclear Weapons Documents

originally posted by satya in another thread
Non-proliferation as disarmament

From what I understand, as part of the nuclear 'deal', US has asked that its nuclear corporations not be held liable for any nuclear disaster arising from their reactors sold to India (like the Union Carbide - Bhopal catastrophy).

I would not be surprised if the Indian govt agreed.

http://www.un.org/NPT2010/



not disarmament.. the "goal" of disarmament...

the NPT has been a magnificent success at furthering the goal of nuclear disarmament... the goal is even further away than ever before...