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Unless I missed it the PDF doesn't explain why you would want to weld plutonium.
by colordrops 3y ago
Unless I missed it the PDF doesn't explain why you would want to weld plutonium.
- curtis3389 3y agoI suppose you would need to weld two hemispheres of plutonium together to make the hollow pit[1] for an implosion device. Or it could be safer to work on smaller pieces and then weld them together. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pit_(nuclear_weapon) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pit_(nuclear_weapon)
- cryptonector 3y agoMy guess is the same: that to add structural integrity during the first phase of implosion, so as to guide the implosion process better (rather than having a piece of the pit fly out, say), you'd want to weld the pieces with little plutonium columns between them. I doubt that's how modern bombs work.
- cratermoon 3y agoThis seems like the best possible place for me to repeat one of my favorite quotes about technologists: Never ask a geek, "why?", just nod your head and back away slowly.
- colordrops 3y agoSure, but I think the people that published this were doing the exact opposite of geeking out and had the most deadly serious of intentions with the work.