[87775] in Cypherpunks
The Important Question / Re: russia_1.html
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Anonymous)
Mon Oct 6 16:03:11 1997
Date: Mon, 6 Oct 1997 21:21:35 +0200 (MET DST)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
From: nobody@replay.com (Anonymous)
Reply-To: nobody@replay.com (Anonymous)
Paul Pomes wrote:
>
> Even a fizzle with a yield in the hundreds of tons equivalent is respectable.
> Plutonium decay products have a high neutron cross-section and steal the
> fast neutrons necessary for the chain reaction to build. Sufficient amounts
> can kill off the last three or more re-doublings which is where most of the
> explosive power comes from. On the other hand finely dispersed Pu and
> other fission products plus the irradiated material that becomes radioactive
> will make a few square miles dangerous to inhabit for several years.
Bill Frantz wrote:
> Plutonium has a half life on the order
> of 250,000 years, so very little decay products would build up in 6 years.
> The tritium used in thermonuclear weapons has a much shorter half life, and
> would need to be replaced about that often.
But the _important_ question is: "Where do connect the 'yellow' wire?"
