But that was not the nature of the discussion. There are two issues: 1) what is a prudent conclusion from the data we have and
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Replying to @CherylRofer @Joshua_Pollack and
2) curiosity (not necessarily idle) about the nature of the North Korean test.
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Replying to @CherylRofer @Joshua_Pollack and
It is prudent to assume that North Korea has a few* nukes on missiles that can reach the US. *https://nucleardiner.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/estimating-north-koreas-nukes/ …
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Replying to @CherylRofer @Joshua_Pollack and
But the test could have been of something in the shell that they showed or something else, a two-stage or a boosted design.
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Replying to @CherylRofer @ArmsControlWonk and
Sure could. Can't rule out any of these possibilities.
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Replying to @Joshua_Pollack @CherylRofer and
Here's Michael Morell pointing to the folly of presuming that we are safe until conclusively proven otherwise:https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/north-korea-may-already-be-able-to-launch-a-nuclear-attack-on-the-us/2017/09/06/ce375080-9325-11e7-8754-d478688d23b4_story.html?utm_term=.71637c1063b1 …
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Replying to @Joshua_Pollack @CherylRofer and
Given limits on # of tests, materials and RV dimensions, shd expect compact TN device in low hundreds of kt, not Mt anyway, right?
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Replying to @halvorkippe @Joshua_Pollack and
The estimates of the latest test are in the 150 kT (that's *k*T) range. Any nuclear strike on an American city would have 9/11 effects.
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Replying to @CherylRofer @halvorkippe and
It would be at least 9/11 x 100, in terms of fatalities. 150 kt easily gets you into the +100K deaths in a major urban areas.
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Replying to @wellerstein @CherylRofer and
Yeah, if it's a hit. Any guestimates on CEP at 10 000 km for HS-14? Must be a tough call. Chilling anyway.
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Even without a direct hit, if target is big & soft. @ArmsControlWonk suggested ~2-3km CEP is as good-enough guess http://nuclearsecrecy.com/missilemap/?&s=41.202%2C126.691&t=34.0199%2C-118.2307&p=dprk_hwasong-14&sp=dprk_changgang&yp=psi5_ab&kt=150&c=3000&r=10000&wr=1&a=1&mc=34.0914%2C241.5393&z=10 …
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Replying to @wellerstein @halvorkippe and
His argument was that this was similar to 1st-gen Chinese ICBMs. Even if you went to 5km, which was the R-7's CEP, LA still can't be missed.
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Replying to @wellerstein @CherylRofer and
True. And they wd put their best IMUs in their ICBMs. Great job on NukeMap and MissileMap btw!
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