4 ms·

Why TNT?

dingaling 10y ago
The Composition-B compression explosive was a mix of TNT, RDX and wax. For training missions such as this the plutonium pit was removed but everything else was as in the live weapon, so it could still have made a mighty-but-conventional bang. Pedantically this wasn't a BROKEN ARROW ( unauthorized use ) but EMPTY QUIVER ( loss or theft of weapon or component thereof ).
- sdrothrock 10y ago
  > Pedantically this wasn't a BROKEN ARROW ( unauthorized use ) but EMPTY QUIVER ( loss or theft of weapon or component thereof ). If we're being pedantic, this wasn't EMPTY QUIVER either, though, was it? Both BROKEN ARROW and EMPTY QUIVER are events involving nuclear weapons, but this one had lead instead of plutonium, so it was no longer a nuclear weapon.
  - sparky_z 10y ago
    It was a "component" of a nuclear weapon (the other component being the plutonium core). A cannon doesn't stop being a cannon just because you take out the gunpowder and fill it with sand. It may not be at risk of going off accidentally, but it's still a disaster to lose track of one if cannon design techniques are a closely-guarded state secret.
    - JorgeGT 10y ago
      > if cannon design techniques are a closely-guarded state secret. Which indeed were, for a long time, specially regarding metallurgy.
  - dotancohen 10y ago
    The device lost is still considered a nuclear weapon in the sense that should it fall into enemy hands, it would help the enemy develop their own weapons and understand the limitations of your weapons.
- pvg 10y ago
  BROKEN ARROW is not really 'unauthorized use'. There's a lengthy list here: http://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/afmc/publication/afi10-206_afmcsup/afi10-206_afmcsup.pdf http://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/afmc/publicat... By those definitions, it's not wrong although the title was rewritten and the article doesn't use that terminology.
tempestn 10y ago
The conventional explosives (TNT and RDX) in the bomb are used to start a chain reaction in the plutonium. Specifically, Physicist Seth Neddermeyer at Los Alamos constructed a design for the plutonium bomb that used conventional explosives around a central plutonium mass to quickly squeeze and consolidate the plutonium, increasing the pressure and density of the substance. An increased density allowed the plutonium to reach its critical mass, firing neutrons and allowing the fission chain reaction to proceed. To detonate the bomb, the explosives were ignited, releasing a shock wave that compressed the inner plutonium and led to its explosion.[1] [1] http://www.atomicheritage.org/history/science-behind-atom-bomb http://www.atomicheritage.org/history/science-behind-atom-bo...
- mayneack 10y ago
  Yeah, but it was a dud?

Why TNT?

The Composition-B compression explosive was a mix of TNT, RDX and wax. For training missions such as this the plutonium pit was removed but everything else was as in the live weapon, so it could still have made a mighty-but-conventional bang. Pedantically this wasn't a BROKEN ARROW ( unauthorized use ) but EMPTY QUIVER ( loss or theft of weapon or component thereof ).

sdrothrock 10y ago
> Pedantically this wasn't a BROKEN ARROW ( unauthorized use ) but EMPTY QUIVER ( loss or theft of weapon or component thereof ). If we're being pedantic, this wasn't EMPTY QUIVER either, though, was it? Both BROKEN ARROW and EMPTY QUIVER are events involving nuclear weapons, but this one had lead instead of plutonium, so it was no longer a nuclear weapon.
- sparky_z 10y ago
  It was a "component" of a nuclear weapon (the other component being the plutonium core). A cannon doesn't stop being a cannon just because you take out the gunpowder and fill it with sand. It may not be at risk of going off accidentally, but it's still a disaster to lose track of one if cannon design techniques are a closely-guarded state secret.
  - JorgeGT 10y ago
    > if cannon design techniques are a closely-guarded state secret. Which indeed were, for a long time, specially regarding metallurgy.
- dotancohen 10y ago
  The device lost is still considered a nuclear weapon in the sense that should it fall into enemy hands, it would help the enemy develop their own weapons and understand the limitations of your weapons.
pvg 10y ago
BROKEN ARROW is not really 'unauthorized use'. There's a lengthy list here: http://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/afmc/publication/afi10-206_afmcsup/afi10-206_afmcsup.pdf http://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/afmc/publicat... By those definitions, it's not wrong although the title was rewritten and the article doesn't use that terminology.

tempestn 10y ago

The conventional explosives (TNT and RDX) in the bomb are used to start a chain reaction in the plutonium. Specifically, Physicist Seth Neddermeyer at Los Alamos constructed a design for the plutonium bomb that used conventional explosives around a central plutonium mass to quickly squeeze and consolidate the plutonium, increasing the pressure and density of the substance. An increased density allowed the plutonium to reach its critical mass, firing neutrons and allowing the fission chain reaction to proceed. To detonate the bomb, the explosives were ignited, releasing a shock wave that compressed the inner plutonium and led to its explosion.[1] [1] http://www.atomicheritage.org/history/science-behind-atom-bomb http://www.atomicheritage.org/history/science-behind-atom-bo...

mayneack 10y ago
Yeah, but it was a dud?