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That isn’t what this would be used for. In fact, yields for the largest deployed H-bombs today I think are smaller than they once were (due to better targeting

That isn’t what this would be used for. In fact, yields for the largest deployed H-bombs today I think are smaller than they once were (due to better targeting capabilities).

simiones 4y ago
What do you think the US nuclear weapons research lab will use their research for? You're right that increasing the yield was a bad example from my side, but the purpose is to improve the weapons, nothing else.
- Robotbeat 4y ago
  The purpose of NIF, and it’s not hidden, is to maintain the existing US nuclear stockpile since we can no longer rely on using underground nuclear weapon testing to ensure they still work. There’s a very big supercomputing capability funded under the same effort. Instead of testing the weapons by exploding them underground, we use computer modeling with the modeling validated (ie backed up) by experiment (at NIF) to make sure the stockpile works and can maintain its strategic deterrent. The euphemistic name for this is “stockpile stewardship.”
- hwillis 4y ago
  The B53 bomb was built in 1961 and it released 38 PJ or 10 BILLION times more energy than this experiment. Data gathered about plasma and fusion at NIF temperatures and pressures is not helpful for the insanely different environment of a nuclear bomb. > What do you think the US nuclear weapons research lab will use their research for? Why do you think that fusion is not enough? Complete strategic energy independence for the US, and dominance in the electricity sector? That's so, SO much more valuable than better nuclear weapons.
tetha 4y ago
This is true. The issue is that already a relatively small nuclear weapon is perfectly sufficient to wipe out most to all civilian structures. However, it does so in a roughly circular area, and you need to increase the initial explosion a royal lot to increase the devastated area by a bit. And as you increase the overall spherical blast of the weapon in order to increase the circle of doom on the ground, more and more explosive power just vaporizes air. That's why MIRV was introduced. One ICBM delivering 10 - 20 small warheads result in much greater devastation than an equally heavy warhead in one package, because less power is wasted on air and space. It's morbid math, but it makes sense.

That isn’t what this would be used for. In fact, yields for the largest deployed H-bombs today I think are smaller than they once were (due to better targeting capabilities).

simiones 4y ago

What do you think the US nuclear weapons research lab will use their research for? You're right that increasing the yield was a bad example from my side, but the purpose is to improve the weapons, nothing else.

Robotbeat 4y ago
The purpose of NIF, and it’s not hidden, is to maintain the existing US nuclear stockpile since we can no longer rely on using underground nuclear weapon testing to ensure they still work. There’s a very big supercomputing capability funded under the same effort. Instead of testing the weapons by exploding them underground, we use computer modeling with the modeling validated (ie backed up) by experiment (at NIF) to make sure the stockpile works and can maintain its strategic deterrent. The euphemistic name for this is “stockpile stewardship.”
hwillis 4y ago
The B53 bomb was built in 1961 and it released 38 PJ or 10 BILLION times more energy than this experiment. Data gathered about plasma and fusion at NIF temperatures and pressures is not helpful for the insanely different environment of a nuclear bomb. > What do you think the US nuclear weapons research lab will use their research for? Why do you think that fusion is not enough? Complete strategic energy independence for the US, and dominance in the electricity sector? That's so, SO much more valuable than better nuclear weapons.

tetha 4y ago

This is true. The issue is that already a relatively small nuclear weapon is perfectly sufficient to wipe out most to all civilian structures. However, it does so in a roughly circular area, and you need to increase the initial explosion a royal lot to increase the devastated area by a bit. And as you increase the overall spherical blast of the weapon in order to increase the circle of doom on the ground, more and more explosive power just vaporizes air. That's why MIRV was introduced. One ICBM delivering 10 - 20 small warheads result in much greater devastation than an equally heavy warhead in one package, because less power is wasted on air and space. It's morbid math, but it makes sense.