3 ms·
Surely not that much. The LD50 of heavy water is really high at 30% of body weight[1] but it's only about $10,000 per kg. So even the most obese millionaire s
by Symmetry 3y ago
Surely not that much. The LD50 of heavy water is really high at 30% of body weight[1] but it's only about $10,000 per kg. So even the most obese millionaire should be able to kill themselves this way if they really want to.
That's part of why thermonuclear weapons have such a disturbingly high "bang for the buck." The enriched uranium or plutonium primary is really expensive. So is the rocket that gets it where it's going. But the lithium deuteride that makes up the fusion fuel is comparatively dirt cheap.
[1]https://arxiv.org/pdf/physics/0206076.pdf https://arxiv.org/pdf/physics/0206076.pdf
- jabl 3y ago> That's part of why thermonuclear weapons have such a disturbingly high "bang for the buck." The enriched uranium or plutonium primary is really expensive. So is the rocket that gets it where it's going. But the lithium deuteride that makes up the fusion fuel is comparatively dirt cheap. No idea what the cost of enriched U, Pu, or lithium deuteride is, but I'll note that A) current day thermonuclear warheads deliver an estimated 50% of the total output through fission of enriched U (casing) and Pu (primary) B) the lithium in lithium deuteride, as well as the deuterium, need to be enriched, so probably not quite dirt cheap (depends on your definition of dirt cheap I guess)?