User talk:B7342

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[edit] Welcome to the Wikipedia!

Hello, and Welcome to the Wikipedia, B7342! Thanks for weighing in over on the Dick Cheney article discussion. Hope you enjoy editing here and becoming a Wikipedian! Here are a few perfunctory tips to hasten your acculturation into the Wikipedia experience:

And some odds and ends: Boilerplate text, Brilliant prose, Cite your sources, Civility, Conflict resolution, How to edit a page, How to write a great article, Pages needing attention, Peer review, Policy Library, Utilities, Verifiability, Village pump, and Wikiquette; also, you can sign your name on any page by typing 4 tildes: ~~~~.

Best of luck, B7342, and most importantly, have fun! Ombudsman 20:37, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ya?

I have had a Wikipedia account since ever.. I just recently started using it .. --B7342 17:16, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Locked

As an admin, I can protect pages. I choose to protect my user page, since it got occasionally vandalized. Is there anything you would need to edit? -- Chris 73 | Talk 20:55, 25 February 2006 (UTC)^

[edit] No

I just thought it would be neet to lock mine... (What does one have to do to be an admin here?) --B7342 20:58, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

Admin candidates are voted on on WP:RfA. If there is about 80% support, they will become admins. While there are no fixed standards, such requests usually fail if the user has less than 1000 edits. A good knowledge of Wikkpedia procedure and interaction in the community is also good. Since you have less than 200 edits, I suggest you wait till you have at least 1000 edits. -- Chris 73 | Talk 21:15, 25 February 2006 (UTC)
Sorry, no IRC nick. No nomination either ;) -- Chris 73 | Talk 21:26, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Image:New Frog Woot.jpg

Hello B7342, an automated process has found an image or media file tagged as nonfree media, such as fair use. The image (Image:New Frog Woot.jpg) was found at the following location: User:B7342/userbox. This image or media will be removed per statement number 9 of our non-free content policy. The image or media will be replaced with Image:NonFreeImageRemoved.svg , so your formatting of your userpage should be fine. The image that was replaced will not be automatically deleted, but it could be deleted at a later date. Articles using the same image should not be affected by my edits. I ask you to please not readd the image to your userpage and could consider finding a replacement image licensed under either the Creative Commons or GFDL license or released to the public domain. Thanks for your attention and cooperation. User:Gnome (Bot)-talk 02:11, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

produced in nuclear reactors. Plutonium is created when an atom of uranium-238

absorbs a neutron and becomes plutonium-239. The reactor generates the

neutrons in a controlled chain reaction. For the neutrons to be absorbed by the

uranium their speed must be slowed by passing them through a substance known

as a "moderator." Graphite and heavy water have been used as moderators in

reactors fueled by natural uranium. For graphite to succeed as a moderator it

must be exceptionally pure; impurities will halt the chain reaction. Heavy water

looks and tastes like ordinary water but contains atoms of deuterium instead of

atoms of hydrogen. For heavy water to succeed as a moderator, it too must be

pure; it must be free of significant contamination by ordinary water, with which it is

mixed in nature.


(a) Plutonium needed to make a bomb:

- 4 kilograms: Weight of a solid sphere of plutonium just large enough to achieve

a critical mass with a beryllium reflector. Diameter of such a sphere: 2.86 in (7.28

cm). Diameter of a regulation baseball: 2.90 in (7.36 cm). - 4.4 kilograms: Estimated amount used in Israel's fission bombs. - 5 kilograms: Estimated amount needed to manufacture a first-generation fission

bomb today. - 6.1 kilograms: Amount used in "Trinity" test in 1945 and in the bomb dropped on

Nagasaki. - 15 kilograms: Weight of a solid sphere of plutonium just large enough to achieve

a critical mass without a reflector. Diameter of such a sphere: 4.44 in (11.3 cm).

Diameter of a regulation softball: 3.82 in (9.7 cm).


(b) Plutonium generated by various reactors:

- 5.5-8 kilograms/year: North Korea's 20-30 megawatt (thermal) Yongbyon

reactor moderated by graphite. - 12 kilograms/year: Pakistan's 50 megawatt (thermal) Khushab reactor

moderated by heavy water. - 9 kilograms/year: India's 40 megawatt (thermal) Cirus reactor moderated by

heavy water. - 25 kilograms/year: India's 100 megawatt (thermal) Dhruva reactor moderated by

heavy water. - 40 kilograms/year: Israel's more than 100 megawatt (thermal) Dimona reactor

moderated by heavy water. - 230 kilograms/year: Iran's 1,000 megawatt (electric) Bushehr reactor supplied

by Russia and moderated by ordinary water (not yet in operation).


(c) Estimated amount of heavy water needed for a small reactor used to make

nuclear weapons:

- 19 metric tons: India's 40 megawatt (thermal) Cirus reactor. - More than 36 metric tons: Israel's more than 100 megawatt (thermal) Dimona

reactor. - 78 metric tons: India's 100 megawatt (thermal) Dhruva reactor.


B. Uranium-235

The world's second nuclear explosion was achieved with uranium-235. This

isotope is unstable and fissions when struck by a neutron. It is, however, found in

natural uranium at a concentration of only 0.7 percent. To be useful in nuclear

weapons, the concentration must be increased. This is accomplished by a

process known as enrichment. Because the isotopes of uranium are identical

chemically, the enrichment process exploits the slight difference in their masses.

Nuclear weapons now use a concentration of 93.5 percent uranium-235.


(a) Uranium-235 needed to make a bomb:

- 15 kilograms: Weight of a solid sphere of 100 percent uranium-235 just large

enough to achieve a critical mass with a beryllium reflector. Diameter of such a

sphere: 4.48 in (11.4 cm). Diameter of a regulation softball: 3.82 in (9.7 cm). - 16 kilograms: Amount needed for an Iraqi bomb design found by UN inspectors. - 50 kilograms: Weight of a solid sphere of 100 percent uranium-235 just large

enough to achieve a critical mass without a reflector. Diameter of such a sphere:

6.74 in (17.2 cm), comparable to an average honeydew melon. - 60 kilograms: Reported amount used in Hiroshima bomb "Little Boy."


(b) Various methods used to enrich uranium:

(i) Electromagnetic Isotope Separation (EMIS)

In this process, uranium atoms are ionized (given an electrical charge) then sent

in a stream past powerful magnets. The heavier U-238 atoms are deflected less

in their trajectory than the lighter U-235 atoms by the magnetic field, so the

isotopes separate and can be captured by collectors. The process is repeated

until a high concentration of U-235 is achieved. An American version of the EMIS

process, featuring "calutrons", was used in the Manhattan Project. EMIS was also

the principal process pursued by the Iraqi uranium enrichment effort.

(b) Gaseous Diffusion

In the gaseous diffusion process gaseous uranium hexafluoride (UF6) flows

through a porous membrane of nickel or aluminum oxide. Lighter molecules of

uranium-235 within the UF6 (235UF6) diffuse through the porous barrier at a

faster rate than the heavier molecules of uranium-238 (238UF6). Because the

difference in velocities between the two isotopes is small the process must be

repeated thousands of times to achieve weapon-usable uranium-235.

(c) Gas Centrifuge

In the gas centrifuge process gaseous UF6 is fed into a cylindrical rotor that spins

at a high speed inside an evacuated casing. Centrifugal forces cause the heavier

238UF6 to tend to move closer to the outer wall than the lighter 235UF6, thus

partially separating the uranium isotopes. This separation is increased by a

relatively slow axial countercurrent flow of gas within the centrifuge that

concentrates enriched gas at one end and depleted gas at the other. Numerous

stages in the process, employing thousands of centrifuges, are needed to

concentrate the uranium-235 to weapon-grade.

(d) Aerodynamic Processes

In the Becker nozzle process a mixture of gaseous UF6 and helium (H2) is

compressed and then directed along a curved wall at high velocity. The heavier

uranium-238-bearing molecules move preferentially out to the wall relative to

those containing uranium-235. At the end of the deflection, the gas jet is split by a

knife edge into a light fraction and a heavy fraction, which are withdrawn

separately.

(e) Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS)

The AVLIS process uses dye lasers tuned so that only uranium-235 atoms

absorb the laser light. As the uranium-235 atom absorbs the laser light, its

electrons are excited to a higher energy state. When enough energy is absorbed,

a uranium-235 atom will eject an electron and become a positively charged ion.

The uranium-235 ions may then be deflected by an electrostatic field to a product

collector. The uranium-238 atoms remain neutral and pass through the product

collector.

(f) Molecular Laser Isotope Separation (MLIS)

The MLIS separation process consists of two basic steps. In the first step UF6 is

excited by an infrared laser system, which selectively excites the UF6 molecules

bearing uranium-235 (235UF6), leaving the UF6 molecules bearing uranium-238

unexcited (238UF6). In the second step, photons from a second laser system

(infrared or ultraviolet) preferentially dissociate the excited 235UF6 to form

uranium pentafluoride (UF5) molecules bearing uranium-235 (235UF5) and free

fluorine atoms. The 235UF5 formed from the dissociation precipitates from the

gas as a powder that can be filtered from the gas stream.

(g) Thermal Diffusion

Thermal diffusion uses the transfer of heat across a thin liquid or gas to

accomplish isotope separation. By cooling a vertical film on one side and heating

it on the other, the resultant convection currents will produce an upward flow along

the hot surface and a downward flow along the cold surface. Under these

conditions, the lighter uranium-235 molecules will diffuse toward the cold surface.

These two diffusive motions combined with the convection currents will cause the

lighter uranium-235 molecules to concentrate at the top of the film and the heavier

uranium-238 molecules to concentrate at the bottom of the film.


The First Bombs

United States

"Trinity": World's first nuclear test explosion: July 16, 1945. Location: Near Alamogordo, New Mexico. Yield: 21 kilotons. Fissile material used: Plutonium-239. Amount: 6.1 kilograms. Method of detonation: Implosion. Amount of high-explosive wrapped around plutonium core: 2268 kilograms. Method of production: Nuclear reactor at the Hanford Reservation.

"Little Boy": First use of nuclear weapon in war: August 6, 1945. Location: Hiroshima, Japan. Detonation height: 580 meters. Delivery mechanism: Airdropped from B-29 bomber named Enola Gay. Yield: 12.5 kilotons. Fissile material used: Uranium-235. Method of detonation: "Gun-type" device. Method of production: "Calutron" electromagnetic isotope separation.

"Fat Man": Second use of a nuclear weapon in war: August 9, 1945. Location: Nagasaki, Japan. Detonation Height: 500 meters. Delivery mechanism: Airdropped from B-29 bomber named Bock's Car. Yield: 22 kilotons. Fissile material used: Plutonium-239. Method of Detonation: Implosion. Amount used: 6.2 kilograms.

"Ivy Mike": First hydrogen bomb tested: November 1, 1952. Location: Elugelab Island, Enewetak Atoll. Yield: 10.4 megatons.

Soviet Union

"Joe 1": First nuclear test: August 29, 1949. Location: Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan. Yield: 10-20 kilotons. Fissile material used: Plutonium-239. Method of detonation: Implosion. Method of production: Reactor.

"Joe 4": First thermonuclear test: August 12, 1953. Location: Possibly in Siberia. Yield: 200-300 kilotons.

Great Britain

"Hurricane": First nuclear test: October 3, 1952. Location: Off Trimouille Island, Australia. Yield: 25 kilotons. Fissile material used: Plutonium-239. Method of detonation: Implosion. Method of production: Reactor. Foreign Assistance: United States.

"Grapple Y": Thought to be the first two-step thermonuclear test: April 28, 1958. Location: Christmas Island. Yield: 2 megatons. Delivery Mechanism: Airdropped from a Valiant XD825 bomber.

France

"Gerboise Bleue": First nuclear test: February 13, 1960. Location: Reggane Proving Grounds, Algeria. Yield: 60-70 kilotons. Fissile material used: Plutonium-239. Method of detonation: Implosion. Method of production: Reactor.

"Canopus": First thermonuclear test: August 24, 1968. Location: Fangataufa Atoll. Yield: 2.6 megatons. Foreign assistance: Norway (heavy water to make tritium).

China

"596": First nuclear test: October 16, 1964. Location: Lop Nor. Yield: 12.5-22 kilotons. Fissile material used: Uranium-235. Method of production: Gaseous diffusion. Foreign assistance: Soviet Union.

First thermonuclear test: June 17, 1967. Location: Lop Nor. Yield: Approximately 3 megatons. Delivery mechanism: Airdropped from a Hong 6 bomber.

Israel

Estimated date when first bomb was produced: Late 1966. Fissile material: Plutonium. Method of production: Dimona reactor imported from France and operated with

heavy water supplied by Norway. Probably conducted a 2-3 kiloton nuclear test on September 22, 1979 in the

South Atlantic Ocean in cooperation with South Africa.

India

First nuclear test: May 18, 1974. Location: Pokhran. Yield: 2-15 kilotons. Fissile material used: Plutonium-239. Method of production: Cirus reactor supplied by Canada and operated with heavy

water supplied by the United States.

Second nuclear test "Shakti 1": May 11, 1998. Location: Pokhran. Yield: 10-15 kilotons.

Third nuclear test (claimed): May 13, 1998. Yield: India claimed it tested two nuclear bombs, with a combined yield of 0.8

kilotons; however, there is no seismic evidence of any nuclear explosion.

South Africa

First device built: December 1982. Total bombs built: Six. Method of detonation: "Gun-type" device. Fissile material used: Uranium-235. Nuclear tests: None.

Dismantlement of bomb program began in November 1989 and was completed

in early September 1991, after which South Africa signed a comprehensive

safeguards inspection agreement with the IAEA.

Pakistan

Estimated production of first bomb: Late 1987. First nuclear test: May 28, 1998. Location: Chagai Hills region. Yield: 9-12 kilotons Fissile material used: Uranium-235. Method of production: Gas centrifuge technology smuggled from Europe. Foreign assistance: China (bomb design), Germany (uranium processing

equipment).

Second nuclear test: May 30, 1998. Yield: 4-6 kilotons.

North Korea

First nuclear test: October 9, 2006. Location: Near P'unggye. Yield: Less than 1 kiloton. Fissile material: Plutonium-239. Method of production: Graphite reactor at Yongbyon.

or A-bomb, weapon deriving its explosive force from the release of atomic energy

through the fission (splitting) of heavy nuclei (see nuclear energy). The first atomic

bomb was produced at the Los Alamos, N.Mex., laboratory and successfully

tested on July 16, 1945. This was the culmination of a large U.S. army program

that was part of the Manhattan Project, led by Dr. Robert Oppenheimer. It began

in 1940, two years after the German scientists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman

discovered nuclear fission. On Aug. 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on

Hiroshima with an estimated equivalent explosive force of 12,500 tons of TNT,

followed three days later by a second, more powerful, bomb on Nagasaki. Both

bombs caused widespread death, injury, and destruction, and there is still

considerable debate about the need to have used them.

Atomic bombs were subsequently developed by the USSR (1949; now Russia),

Great Britain (1952), France (1960), and China (1964). A number of other

nations, particularly India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea now have atomic

bombs or the capability to produce them readily; South Africa formerly possessed

a small arsenal. The three smaller Soviet successor states that inherited nuclear

arsenals (Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus) relinquished all nuclear warheads,

which have been removed to Russia.

Atomic bombs have been designed by students, but their actual construction is a

complex industrial process. Practical fissionable nuclei for atomic bombs are the

isotopes uranium-235 and plutonium-239, which are capable of undergoing chain

reaction. If the mass of the fissionable material exceeds the critical mass (a few

pounds), the chain reaction multiplies rapidly into an uncontrollable release of

energy. An atomic bomb is detonated by bringing together very rapidly (e.g., by

means of a chemical explosive) two subcritical masses of fissionable material,

the combined mass exceeding the critical mass. An atomic bomb explosion

produces, in addition to the shock wave accompanying any explosion, intense

neutron and gamma radiation, both of which are very damaging to living tissue.

The neighborhood of the explosion becomes contaminated with radioactive

fission products. Some radioactive products are borne into the upper atmosphere

as dust or gas and may subsequently be deposited partially decayed as

radioactive fallout far from the site of the explosion.

here are two basic types of nuclear weapons. The first are weapons which

produce their explosive energy through nuclear fission reactions alone. These are

known colloquially as atomic bombs, A-bombs, or fission bombs. In fission

weapons, a mass of fissile material (enriched uranium or plutonium) is

assembled into a supercritical mass—the amount of material needed to start an

exponentially growing nuclear chain reaction—either by shooting one piece of

subcritical material into another, or by compressing a subcritical mass with

chemical explosives, at which point neutrons are injected and the reaction begins.

A major challenge in all nuclear weapon designs is ensuring that a significant

fraction of the fuel is consumed before the weapon destroys itself. The amount of

energy released by fission bombs can range between the equivalent of less than

a ton of TNT upwards to around 500,000 tons (500 kilotons) of TNT. The second basic type of nuclear weapon produces a large amount of its energy

through nuclear fusion reactions, and can be over a thousand times more

powerful than fission bombs. These are known as hydrogen bombs, H-bombs,

thermonuclear bombs, or fusion bombs. Only six countries— United States,

Russia, United Kingdom, People's Republic of China, France, and India—have

detonated, or have attempted to detonate, hydrogen bombs. Hydrogen bombs

work by utilizing the Teller-Ulam design, in which a fission bomb is detonated in a

specially manufactured compartment adjacent to a fusion fuel. The gamma and

X-rays of the fission explosion compress and heat a capsule of tritium, deuterium,

or lithium deuteride starting a fusion reaction. Neutrons emitted by this fusion

reaction can induce a final fission stage in a depleted uranium tamper

surrounding the fusion fuel, increasing the yield considerably as well as the

amount of nuclear fallout. Each of these components is known as a "stage", with

the fission bomb as the "primary" and the fusion capsule as the "secondary". By

chaining together numerous stages with increasing amounts of fusion fuel,

thermonuclear weapons can be made to an almost arbitrary yield; the largest ever

detonated (the Tsar Bomba of the USSR) released an energy equivalent to over

50 million tons (megatons) of TNT, though most modern weapons are nowhere

near that large. There are other types of nuclear weapons as well. For example, a boosted fission

weapon is a fission bomb which increases its explosive yield through a small

amount of fusion reactions, but it is not a hydrogen bomb. Some weapons are

designed for special purposes; a neutron bomb is a nuclear weapon that yields a

relatively small explosion but a relatively large amount of prompt radiation; such a

device could theoretically be used to cause massive casualties while leaving

infrastructure mostly intact. The detonation of a nuclear weapon is accompanied

by a blast of neutron radiation. Surrounding a nuclear weapon with suitable

materials (such as cobalt or gold) creates a weapon known as a salted bomb.

This device can produce exceptionally large quantities of radioactive

contamination. Most variety in nuclear weapon design is in different yields of

nuclear weapons for different types of purposes, and in manipulating design

elements to attempt to make weapons extremely small.

Nuclear weapons delivery

The technology and systems used to bring a nuclear weapon to its target—is an

important aspect of nuclear weapons relating both to nuclear weapon design and

nuclear strategy. Historically the first method of delivery, and the method used in the two nuclear

weapons actually used in warfare, is as a gravity bomb, dropped from bomber

aircraft. This method is usually the first developed by countries as it does not

place many restrictions on the size of the weapon, and weapon miniaturization is

something which requires considerable weapons design knowledge. It does,

however, limit the range of attack, the response time to an impending attack, and

the number of weapons which can be fielded at any given time. Additionally,

specialized delivery systems are usually not necessary; especially with the advent

of miniaturization, nuclear bombs can be delivered by both strategic bombers and

tactical fighter-bombers, allowing an air force to use its current fleet with little or no

modification. This method may still be considered the primary means of nuclear

weapons delivery; the majority of U.S. nuclear warheads, for example, are

represented in free-fall gravity bombs, namely the B61. More preferable from a strategic point of view are nuclear weapons mounted onto

a missile, which can use a ballistic trajectory to deliver a warhead over the

horizon. While even short range missiles allow for a faster and less vulnerable

attack, the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and

submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) has allowed some nations to

plausibly deliver missiles anywhere on the globe with a high likelihood of success.

More advanced systems, such as multiple independently targetable re-entry

vehicles (MIRVs) allow multiple warheads to be launched at several targets from

any one missile, reducing the chance of any successful missile defense. Today,

missiles are most common among systems designed for delivery of nuclear

weapons. Making a warhead small enough to fit onto a missile, though, can be a

difficult task. Tactical weapons (see above) have involved the most variety of delivery types,

including not only gravity bombs and missiles but also artillery shells, land mines,

and nuclear depth charges and torpedoes for anti-submarine warfare. An atomic

mortar was also tested at one time by the United States. Small, two-man portable

tactical weapons (somewhat misleadingly referred to as suitcase bombs), such

as the Special Atomic Demolition Munition, have been developed, although the

difficulty to combine sufficient yield with portability limits their military utility.

Fallout is the residual radiation hazard from a nuclear explosion, so named

because it "falls out" of the atmosphere into which it is spread during the

explosion. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust created when a nuclear

weapon explodes. This radioactive dust, consisting of hot particles, is a kind of

radioactive contamination. It can lead to contamination of the food chain. Fallout

can also refer to the dust or debris that results from the nuclear explosion.

2. Total number of nuclear missiles built, 1951-present: 67,500

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project

3. Estimated construction costs for more than 1,000 ICBM launch pads and silos,

and support facilities, from 1957-1964: nearly $14,000,000,000

Maj. C.D. Hargreaves, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Ballistic Missile

Construction Office (CEBMCO), "Introduction to the CEBMCO Historical Report

and History of the Command Section, Pre-CEBMCO Thru December 1962," p. 8;

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Ballistic Missile Construction Office, "U.S. Air

Force ICBM Construction Program," undated chart (circa 1965)

4. Total number of nuclear bombers built, 1945-present: 4,680

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project

5. Peak number of nuclear warheads and bombs in the stockpile/year:

32,193/1966

Natural Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Weapons Databook Project

6. Total number and types of nuclear warheads and bombs built, 1945-1990:

more than 70,000/65 types

U.S. Department of Energy; Natural Resources Defense Council, Nuclear

Weapons Databook Project

7. Number currently in the stockpile (2002): 10,600 (7,982 deployed, 2,700

hedge/contingency stockpile)

Natural Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Weapons Databook Project

8. Number of nuclear warheads requested by the Army in 1956 and 1957:

151,000

History of the Custody and Deployment of Nuclear Weapons, July 1945 Through

September 1977, Prepared by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense

(Atomic Energy), February 1978, p. 50 (formerly Top Secret)

9. Projected operational U.S. strategic nuclear warheads and bombs after full

enactment of the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty in 2012: 1,700-2,200

U.S. Department of Defense; Natural Resources Defense Council, Nuclear

Weapons Databook Project

10. Additional strategic and non-strategic warheads not limited by the treaty that

the U.S. military wants to retain as a "hedge" against unforeseen future threats:

4,900

U..S. Department of Defense; Natural Resources Defense Council, Nuclear

Weapons Databook Project

11. Largest and smallest nuclear bombs ever deployed: B17/B24 (~42,000 lbs.,

10-15 megatons); W54 (51 lbs., .01 kilotons, .02 kilotons-1 kiloton)

Natural Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Weapons Databook Project

12. Peak number of operating domestic uranium mines (1955): 925

Nineteenth Semiannual Report of the Atomic Energy Commission, January 1956,

p. 31

13. Fissile material produced: 104 metric tons of plutonium and 994 metric tons of highly-enriched uranium

U.S. Department of Energy

14. Amount of plutonium still in weapons: 43 metric tons

Natural Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Weapons Databook Project

15. Number of thermometers which could be filled with mercury used to produce

lithium-6 at the Oak Ridge Reservation: 11 billion

U.S. Department of Energy

16. Number of dismantled plutonium "pits" stored at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo,

Texas: 12,067 (as of May 6, 1999)

U.S. Department of Energy

17. States with the largest number of nuclear weapons (in 1999): New Mexico

(2,450), Georgia (2,000), Washington (1,685), Nevada (1,350), and North Dakota

(1,140)

William M. Arkin, Robert S. Norris, and Joshua Handler, Taking Stock: Worldwide

Nuclear Deployments 1998 (Washington, D.C.: Natural Resources Defense

Council, March 1998)

18. Total known land area occupied by U.S. nuclear weapons bases and

facilities: 15,654 square miles

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project

19. Total land area of the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and New Jersey:

15,357 square miles

Rand McNally Road Atlas and Travel Guide, 1992

20. Legal fees paid by the Department of Energy to fight lawsuits from workers

and private citizens concerning nuclear weapons production and testing activities,

from October 1990 through March 1995: $97,000,000

U.S. Department of Energy

21. Money paid by the State Department to Japan following fallout from the 1954

"Bravo" test: $15,300,000

Barton C. Hacker, Elements of Controversy: The Atomic Energy Commission and

Radiation Safety in Nuclear Weapons Testing, 1947 -1974, University of

California Press, 1994, p. 158

22. Money and non-monetary compensation paid by the the United States to

Marshallese Islanders since 1956 to redress damages from nuclear testing: at

least $759,000,000

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project

23. Money paid to U.S. citizens under the Radiation Exposure and Compensation

Act of 1990, as of January 13, 1998: approximately $225,000,000 (6,336 claims

approved; 3,156 denied)

U.S. Department of Justice, Torts Branch, Civil Division

24. Total cost of the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion (ANP) program, 1946-1961:

$7,000,000,000

"Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Program," Report of the Joint Committee on Atomic

Energy, September 1959, pp. 11-12

25. Total number of nuclear-powered aircraft and airplane hangars built: 0 and 1

Ibid; "American Portrait: ANP," WFAA-TV (Dallas), 1993. Between July 1955 and

March 1957, a specially modified B-36 bomber made 47 flights with a three

megawatt air-cooled operational test reactor (the reactor, however, did not power

the plane).

26. Number of secret Presidential Emergency Facilities built for use during and

after a nuclear war: more than 75

Bill Gulley with Mary Ellen Reese, Breaking Cover, Simon and Schuster, 1980,

pp. 34- 36

27. Currency stored until 1988 by the Federal Reserve at its Mount Pony facility

for use after a nuclear war: more than $2,000,000,000

Edward Zuckerman, The Day After World War III, The Viking Press, 1984, pp.

287-88

28. Amount of silver in tons once used at the Oak Ridge, TN, Y-12 Plant for

electrical magnet coils: 14,700

Vincent C. Jones, Manhattan: The Army and the Bomb, U.S. Army Center for

Military History, 1985, pp. 66-7

29. Total number of U.S. nuclear weapons tests, 1945-1992: 1,030 (1,125

nuclear devices detonated; 24 additional joint tests with Great Britain)

U.S. Department of Energy

30. First and last test: July 16, 1945 ("Trinity") and September 23, 1992

("Divider")

U.S. Department of Energy

31. Estimated amount spent between October 1, 1992 and October 1, 1995 on

nuclear testing activities: $1,200,000,000 (0 tests)

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project

32. Cost of 1946 Operation Crossroads weapons tests ("Able" and "Baker") at

Bikini Atoll: $1,300,000,000

Weisgall, Operation Crossroads, pp. 294, 371

33. Largest U.S. explosion/date: 15 Megatons/March 1, 1954 ("Bravo")

U.S. Department of Energy

34. Number of islands in Enewetak atoll vaporized by the November 1, 1952 "Mike" H-bomb test: 1

Chuck Hansen, U.S. Nuclear Weapons: The Secret History, Orion Books, 1988,

pp. 58-59, 95

35. Number of nuclear tests in the Pacific: 106

Natural Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Weapons Databook Project

36. Number of U.S. nuclear tests in Nevada: 911

Natural Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Weapons Databook Project

37. Number of nuclear weapons tests in Alaska [1, 2, and 3], Colorado [1 and 2],

Mississippi and New Mexico [1, 2 and 3]: 10

Natural Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Weapons Databook Project

38. Operational naval nuclear propulsion reactors vs. operational commercial

power reactors (in 1999): 129 vs. 108

Adm. Bruce DeMars, Deputy Assistant Director for Naval Reactors, U.S. Navy;

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

39. Number of attack (SSN) and ballistic missile (SSBN) submarines (2002): 53

SSNs and 18 SSBNs

Adm. Bruce DeMars, Deputy Assistant Director for Naval Reactors, U.S. Navy

40. Number of high level radioactive waste tanks in Washington, Idaho and South

Carolina: 239

U.S. Department of Energy

41. Volume in cubic meters of radioactive waste resulting from weapons

activities: 104,000,000

U.S. Department of Energy; Institute for Energy and Environmental Research

42. Number of designated targets for U.S. weapons in the Single Integrated

Operational Plan (SIOP) in 1976, 1986, and 1995: 25,000 (1976), 16,000 (1986)

and 2,500 (1995)

Bruce Blair, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution

43. Cost of January 17, 1966 nuclear weapons accident over Palomares, Spain

(including two lost planes, an extended search and recovery effort, waste disposal

in the U.S. and settlement claims): $182,000,000

Joint Committee on Atomic Energy Interoffice Memorandum, February 15, 1968;

Center for Defense Information

44. Number of U.S. nuclear bombs lost in accidents and never recovered: 11

U.S. Department of Defense; Center for Defense Information; Greenpeace; "Lost

Bombs," Atwood-Keeney Productions, Inc., 1997

45. Number of Department of Energy federal employees (in 1996): 18,608

U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Worker and Community Transition

46. Number of Department of Energy contractor employees (in 1996): 109,242

U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Worker and Community Transition

47. Minimum number of classified pages estimated to be in the Department of

Energy's possession (1995): 280 million

A Review of the Department of Energy Classification Policy and Practice,

Committee on Declassification of Information for the Department of Energy

Environmental Remediation and Related Programs, National Research Council,

1995, pp. 7-8, 68.

48. Ballistic missile defense spending in 1965 vs. 1995: $2,200,000,000 vs.

$2,600,000,000

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project

49. Average cost per warhead to the U.S. to help Kazakhstan dismantle 104

SS-18 ICBMs carrying more than 1,000 warheads: $70,000

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project; Arms Control Association

50. Estimated 1998 spending on all U.S. nuclear weapons and weapons-related

programs: $35,100,000,000

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project

Ken,

I recently learned some of this, some has been old info to me. I thought it would be

of interest to your readers to think the following over. It originally was a reply to a

private email, obviously the ID is removed. My wife often asks me why I have so

much interest in war books and movies. It is as easily explained as why I love my

wife. I barely missed WW II, held an agricultural deferrment for the Korean Fiasco,

and was drafted after that fiasco ended serving in submarines. In subs it is

continual warfare, peace time and wartime -- the difference being the number of

casualties. In peace time the casualties are deftly white-washed over. And then

when we return to civilian life, we learn that our own Veteran's Services and our

own government are our constant, real-life enemies. Sorry about the "rant." Now

back to the story. Philip N. Ledoux

11 March 2006

This is nothing current, but fits the little known nuclear picture: Nazi Germany used

what we would call tactical nukes against the Russians as early as 1942! The

Russians didn’t recognize it for what it really was and thought it was a form of gas

warfare. Through diplomatic channels, Germany was informed that if it didn’t

cease, they (Russians) would retaliate with gas warfare. And a known report,

never dusted off and kept in the dark, by a Luffwaff pilot saw a Heroshima type

bomb test on German soil while flying along the North Sea something like a year

or a year and a half before the end of the war. This sort of backs up my theory that

the victors and losers are known before a war starts.

Japan tested an atomic bomb two days after the Hiroshima event. A few days

later in a major decision making conference in the Imperial Palace of the military

and leading men in Japan – the prevailing sentiment was to continue the war (they

knew of Japan’s bomb), but the Emperor over-rode and carried out the decision

to capitulate. Another confirmation of my theory.

The U.S. didn’t have enough U238 to make a bomb with at the end of the war!

When Germany capitulated, a German cargo sub captain decided to turn the boat

in at an Argentinean port. The cargo contained U238 headed for Japan, and

detonators for these types of bombs. Strangely the bomb dropped on Hiroshima

was never tested, imagine that? That implies that it had already been tested by

someone. Quite likely it came from that shipment to Japan at the end of the

European War.

And to me, the saddest part of that war (I missed it by 6 months) was the known

fact that negotiations were underway for the surrender of Japan three months

before Hiroshima. The bomb was not needed.

Another fact that ties into all this: The German bomb and related advanced

research took place in South Eastern Germany. This is the area that General

Patton mopped up in a hurry to beat the Russians from capturing the “goodies.” It

is known that this was the area that contained underground, secure U238

enrichment facilities. Shortly thereafter Patton had a terrible accident. I’ll spare

you the details, but effectively he was murdered. Tie that to MacArthur during the

Korean War. He makes it to the Yalu River (dividing line between Korea and

China). This is the area that had the equivalent of our Hanford Project (U238

enrichment) built by the Japanese. Immediately after that MacArthur was replaced

as overall commander and sent into obscure retirement. Both men discovered

“something” that TPTB did not want the world to know about. The German and

Japanese scientists were far ahead of Americans in the development of the

bomb and especially the facilities (and special equipment) to make the bomb

with.

All this comes from Farrell’s “Reich of the Black Sun.”

Apparently the Japanese were able to keep the secret from the victors about their

U238 enrichment and research facilities in North Korea, and it wasn’t until

MacArthur stumbled on the vastness of the facilities that this became known. This

implies that North Korea has been a member of the Nuclear Club since during

WW II. How come it is only recently that the sabre-rattlings about North Korea

developing nuclear capabilities?

You commented about Bunker-Busters and Daisy-Cutters being tactical nukes.

True, but the more important news that does not see the light of day is the delivery

vehicles. Sadam had us outnumbered nearly 10 to 1 in equipment and men when

the war started! All cameras, video cameras, etc. were confiscated before the

push-off into battle so that no record would be available to prove that all the troops

were preceded by saucer type anti-gravity “platforms” that sat almost stationary in

the sky picking off everything of military importance as at a turkey shoot, and

directly opposing men and equipment were reduced to a charcoal impression in

the sands, the humans leaving no impressions. that last one was a bit odd but ya get my point —Preceding unsigned comment added by Timothyravyn (talk • contribs) 01:56, 15 September 2007 (UTC)


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