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Basically anyone with access to Wikipedia can design and build a nuclear bomb given raw materials. Not to go into too much detail (both because I'm not really
by amalcon 9mo ago
Basically anyone with access to Wikipedia can design and build a nuclear bomb given raw materials. Not to go into too much detail (both because I'm not really an expert and because it's a dangerous activity even without involving uranium), but the Little Boy bomb dropped on Hiroshima was mechanically very simple. The one dropped on Nagasaki was a bit more complex (still within reach of a skilled machinist), and modern fusion bombs more complex still. Either way, all a relatively weak (but still city-killing) bomb takes is enough uranium-235 and access to a hardware store.
The hard part is getting a sufficient quantity of pure enough uranium-235 (or a few other materials, but that's the easiest one) to support a chain reaction. This is why there's been so little proliferation since the end of the cold war: it's not about the knowledge, it's about resources. Uranium mines and processing facilities aren't exactly subtle.