Patrick Shirkey wrote:
> So just to make sure I am correct here... All nuclear weapons require an
> assisted explosion?
Yes, you need both high heat and high pressure to force the fissile
material into the required chain reaction.
> It's categorically impossible for Plutonium-239 to
> become critical without assistance from an explosion of some other fuel
> or high energy source?
>
> You don't have super heated Pu-239 actively being created in a semi
> critical chain reaction. If it gets unstable there is not enough neutron
> flux to make baby go boom.
As explained here:
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Criticality_accident
there have been a number of criticality accidents, but they always
create so much heat that the fissile material expands and the conditions
cease to be critical.
Erik
--
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Erik de Castro Lopo
http://www.mega-nerd.com/
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