From: Adrian Tymes (wingcat@pacbell.net)
Date: Sun Jun 18 2000 - 18:53:18 MDT
Martin Ling wrote:
> On Sun, Jun 18, 2000 at 12:53:28PM -0700, Adrian Tymes wrote:
> > But then, where would you get the device? I suspect most of the people
> > on this list do not have the connections and wealth to buy one of
> > Russia's warheads.
>
> I note you only go so far as to say 'most'. :-)
Uh-huh. Those who blaze the trail to a better life that others
eventually follow, profit from having arrived at the destination while
most of humanity catches up. We are no exception. But I do not know to
what degree the average profit shows up in various forms, including
what portion is monetary.
> Besides, I never suggested it should be one of us who attempts this,
> only that it might be an interesting exercise.
<nods> True. It's nice to think about, but even if I had the money to
do this myself, I've got more effective ways to invest it.
> And anyway, what would
> really polish off the job would be to build the bomb yourself...
One could build it if one had the materials - the plans are easy enough
to get, and there are ways of deducing the critical mass of nuclear
material (say, find out the weight of a nuclear warhead, estimate and
subtract out the weight of the components that do not rely on the mass
of the nuclear warhead, figure out the formula for those that do - for
instance, more implosive needed for more nuclear material - and solve).
Most components of the warhead could be bought easily and anonymously
enough.
The problem is, where to get the nuclear material? It is rare, and
would probably require connections and money on the order of getting a
pre-assembled warhead. (Besides, you couldn't ever get credit for
doing this - not if you wanted to live - and one built by someone else
after extensive testing would be more reliable for a one-shot than one
you built yourself.)
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