Re: "You ain't seen nothin yet."

[Tim <tstead@ntirs.org>]

As a nuclear engineer, it would seem to me that if a

nuclear bomb were to hit the ground before it exploded

that it would be nothing more than a mildly

radioactive paperweight or, as some would say, a dud.



There is a reason why all that money has to be spent

on machining the fuel into a near perfect sphere -

neutron economy.



If that sphere is now suddenly an egg-shaped glob with

part of it's surface chipped or cracked, I doubt that

one could make it go "boom" without expensive

re-machining.  Such a distortion of the shpae of the

fuel can realistically be expected with a plane crash.



Just my thoughts...anyone else more knowledgeable in

this area care to shed some light on it (within the

scope of unclassified discussion, of course).



Regards,

Tim S.



--- William V Lipton <liptonw@DTEENERGY.COM> wrote:

> (My apologies to David Bowie.  If you see this,

> please keep in mind that

> imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.)

> 

> I've seen a lot of comments regarding public

> concerns about security at

> nuclear facilities, both commercial and DOE. 

> However, I have not yet

> seen anything about the coming, summer blockbuster

> movie, "The Sum of

> All Fears."

> 

> Tom Clancy fans who've read the book will remember

> the scenario:  An

> Israeli plane carrying a nuclear weapon is shot down

> over Arab

> territory. Terrorists recover the damaged but

> unexploded weapon, remake

> it as a suitcase weapon, and bring it to the U.S.  I

> won't spoil the

> suspense for those of you who haven't yet read the

> book, but I predict

> that the movie will  be to this decade what "The

> China Syndrome" was to

> the 1970's.  It may be worse, since Tom Clancy is a

> conservative,

> pro-military type.

> 

> We should all be thinking of how to respond.

> 

> The opinions expressed are strictly mine.

> It's not about dose, it's about trust.

> David Bowie rules.

> 

> Bill Lipton

> liptonw@dteenergy.com

> 

> 

> 

>

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