Alex Wellerstein on Twitter: "It is linear. Pu is about the same in terms of fissioning (just a bit more). We are talking about total fissioning. So if 6 kg of Pu gives 18 kt then you know only 1 kg actually fissioned: https://t.co/wvjBlGX0eI… https://t.co/5HKmc9uUr7"

@wellerstein

Historian of science, secrecy, and nuclear weapons. Professor of STS at @FollowStevens. UC Berkeley alum with a Harvard PhD. NUKEMAP creator. Coder and web dev.

Hoboken, NJ / NYC

Joined September 2011

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GeorgeWilliamHerbert‏ @GeorgeWHerbert 3 Feb 2018

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Replying to @SpaceCat4NonPro @ArtyomLukin @NuclearAnthro

Very large fission only devices in U are preferable; predetonation is issue with that much Pu in one place. And critical mass. Especially critical mass. Yield gets better with more Mc but closer to 1.0 you are at rest, handling risks skyrocket...

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Emerson Capuano‏ @emersoncapuano 1 Mar 2018

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Replying to @GeorgeWHerbert @SpaceCat4NonPro and

Both Uranium an Plutonium can be assembled as implosion configuration, but i have a doubt about output power of uranium implosion device. In the same configuration , could Uranium-implosion type warhead be more powerful than Plutonium implosion system?

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GeorgeWilliamHerbert‏ @GeorgeWHerbert 1 Mar 2018

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Replying to @emersoncapuano @SpaceCat4NonPro and

Uranium implosion has yielded up to 500 Kt (Super Oralloy Bomb / Mk-18)...

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Emerson Capuano‏ @emersoncapuano 2 Mar 2018

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Replying to @GeorgeWHerbert @SpaceCat4NonPro and

That' s awesome :) But which is more expensive to make: Uraniun or Plutonium? Plutoniun is get by irradiating Uranium in Fast reactor, by means of decay and chemical purity. In other words HEU requires more aparatus to bring it bot U233 and 235, both fissile.

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GeorgeWilliamHerbert‏ @GeorgeWHerbert 2 Mar 2018

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Replying to @emersoncapuano @SpaceCat4NonPro and

Plutonium is more expensive. The Uranium enrichment process is simpler and easier than reactors plus isotope separation of Pu.

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Alex Wellerstein‏Verified account @wellerstein 2 Mar 2018

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Replying to @GeorgeWHerbert @emersoncapuano and

also just worth noting that if you have BOTH you can set up very efficient warheads — there can be a very economical "mix"

1 reply 0 retweets 4 likes

Martin “Doomsday” Pfeiffer (⧖) ‏ @NuclearAnthro 2 Mar 2018

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Replying to @wellerstein @GeorgeWHerbert and

Composite cores ftw! Historical example would suggest DPRK prob doing them too?

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Emerson Capuano‏ @emersoncapuano 2 Mar 2018

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Replying to @NuclearAnthro @wellerstein and

Could a little amount of HEU ( about 1inch or less), in a boosted configuration be capable to produce fast neutrons making U238 undergoing fission? Is U238 explosion higher than U235, even Pu?

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Alex Wellerstein‏Verified account @wellerstein 3 Mar 2018

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Replying to @emersoncapuano @NuclearAnthro and

A sphere of HEU with a 1 inch diameter is only 0.16 kg... that feels like a strong "no" to me (a couple orders of magnitude smaller than smallest U235 cores I have heard of). U238 fissioning releases approx. same energy per gram of fissioning as U235 and Pu (~18 kt/kg).

2 replies 0 retweets 1 like

Emerson Capuano‏ @emersoncapuano 3 Mar 2018

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Replying to @wellerstein @NuclearAnthro and

18kt per Kg? ( 1:18000 ratio)? Is it a linear or exponential value? What about Plutonium? I heard that about 6kg of Plutonium is capable to delivery similar yield.

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Alex Wellerstein‏Verified account @wellerstein 4 Mar 2018

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Replying to @emersoncapuano @NuclearAnthro and

It is linear. Pu is about the same in terms of fissioning (just a bit more). We are talking about total fissioning. So if 6 kg of Pu gives 18 kt then you know only 1 kg actually fissioned:http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2013/12/23/kilotons-per-kilogram/ …

7:30 AM - 4 Mar 2018

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1. Emerson Capuano‏ @emersoncapuano 4 Mar 2018
  
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  Replying to @wellerstein @NuclearAnthro and
  
  Thanks @wellerstein about this website. I' ve just seen it few minutes ago. Absolutely fantastic a comparison between two isotopes in terms of yield per kilogram. Perhaps you could have any information about secondary fuel and its shape, couldn't?
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