Oh my !!Pls see the diagrams on pg76 to 80.
International nuclear watch & discussion -28-Mar-08
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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??
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
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.
> 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.Sanjay M wrote:I don't see what all the fuss is about.
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.Gerard wrote: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.
But Germany, Japan, etc are open to inspections, whereas we don't want that.
India can research ICF on its own, I suppose.
Uranium near floor after this year's collapse
with nuclear plants taking longer than expected to build and after heavy stock piling last year by utilities, activity on the spot market has dried up and prices have collapsed.
Uranium hit an all-time high of $136 an ounce in June 2007, up from just $7 in 2000. This week the price fell $3 to $65 per pound, according to a leading publisher of prices UxConsulting.
The Kazakh Rockefeller of Nuclear Fuel
Kazatomprom has mastered two phases of Dzhakishev's strategic plan: uranium extraction, which accounts for about 46 percent of the cost of nuclear fuel, according to Ux Consulting, and the production of uranium dioxide fuel pellets, an interim step. Completing his integration strategy would almost double the value of the firm's uranium products.
Dzhakishev needs to add conversion, the chemical transformation of uranium to gas, which contributes about 4 percent of finished nuclear fuel's value. The third stage, enrichment, or conversion of the gas into a radioactive compound suitable for civilian fuel production or nuclear weapons, represents about 30 percent.
To deflect nuclear proliferation concerns, Dzhakishev said Kazakhstan won't perform enrichment and instead will contract the step to Russia.
originally posted by satya in another thread
Non-proliferation as disarmament
Non-proliferation as disarmament
Divided nations to meet on ailing atom control pact
More than 180 nations gather on Monday to seek elusive common ground on how to save the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
There is anxiety whether the NPT regime will survive another failure like the 2005 conference
http://www.un.org/NPT2010/
the NPT has been a magnificent success at furthering the goal of nuclear disarmament... the goal is even further away than ever before...
not disarmament.. the "goal" of disarmament...The NPT, which entered into force in 1970 and was extended indefinitely in 1995, requires that review conferences be held every five years. The Treaty is regarded as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. It was designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to further the goal of nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament, and to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
the NPT has been a magnificent success at furthering the goal of nuclear disarmament... the goal is even further away than ever before...