US conducts nuclear test

[roma]

@Yusuf
To make sure older nukes are operational and make sure nuclear material has not dissipated.

the vigour of the subcritical reaction in itself is good enough - just like when you do your you-know-what and she tells you not to spill eh ?

 

[blank_quest]

:

 

[trackwhack]

Hypocritical is the right word. The yanky PR machine thought subcritical to be a credible synonym.

 

[hit&run]

News is from Press TV, any other source.

If CTBT allows sub critical test then what is the fuss with it. Having more than 5000 nukes they should be doing these tests, so anyone else.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

Iran condemns US nuclear test

Iran condemns US nuclear test

 

[Agnostic Muslim]

chemical high explosives are detonated next to samples of weapons-grade plutonium (plutonium-239) to obtain new insights about plutonium and its alloys in the ensuing microseconds.

In addition to the stated reasons, potential analysis of the impact of air-strikes on Nuclear Weapons stockpiles.

I have argued for a while now that given the size of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal and the presence of multiple production and storage facilities, a 'special operations action to secure Pakistani nuclear weapons' is unfeasible, and that the US would more likely resort to air/missile strikes to destroy nuclear sites and storage facilities.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

Bunker Busters have been designed specially to take out Nuclear installations.

Iran's underground nuclear sites not immune to U.S. bunker-busters, experts say - Washington Post

Iran's underground nuclear sites not immune to U.S. bunker-busters, experts say

 

[GromHellscream]

The "subcritical" nuclear tests don't count as real ones, everyone did the same frequently.
It's a necessary measure to assure the credibility of nuclear weapons.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

it is a great pity that the full-time military staff do not SEEM to have the flexibility of thinking that part-timers on our forum easily display ...... the minute they did so we should too ....alll the building block for a megaton test - WITHOUT REACHING critical stage should be done the minute we know they have done so ...that is what dragon has done in the past not necessarily in the same nuke area but strategy wise ......they use the reasoning that if you did so then you cant complain .....we seem to be SLOW and wasteful in not doing likewise .

Flexibility of thinking for DFI members is one thing. Dealing with the constraints of real systems in real time is another, and therefore seems slow and wasteful to an outside observer.

There is definitely a theme here of "if only I were in charge..."

 

[roma]

Flexibility of thinking for DFI members is one thing. Dealing with the constraints of real systems in real time is another, and therefore seems slow and wasteful to an outside observer.There is definitely a theme here of "if only I were in charge..."

ewald .......no "if i were in charge " i can assure my indian brothers ( not nec ewald ) that'0s not so bcos if that were the case, at leaset i shd be living in india as a pre-qulaificn

at least sonia-ji is doing that ! .....im nt willing ..... and surely after yesterdays incident regarding the para-medic in delhi !

but your statement to the effect that sci-fi is easier thatn in practice is annulled bcos the usa HAS done it - so it's not a pipe-dream

secondly it involves LESS that what india has already done ......we're talking about an almost explosion ...so obviously india already HAS the tech ....they just havent done the thinking ....so i think you have to agree with me ...lack of flexibility , not lack of equipment or tech

 

[Broccoli]

Subcritical Experiments

There was a minor dustup on Twitter between my colleague, Jon Wolfsthal, and the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. Like many discussions on Twitter, 140 characters at a time just didn't get the job done.

At issue is an important article that Frank von Hippel wrote proposing transparency surrounding subcritical experiments. Frank's article was occasioned by a US subcritical test, named Pollux (along with its twin, another experiment named Castor in the Gemini series). Frank has long argued, rather sensibly it seems to me, for confidence building measures relating to subcritical experiments in the United States, Russia and China. I have also suggested that such transparency and confidence building measures ought to be an important part of package designed to win Senate ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.*

Pollux was a useful chance to revisit these discussions. Allow me to make a series of apparently unrelated observations.

Full article here.Jeffrey Lewis • Subcritical Experiments


Subcritical Testing at Lop Nor

The construction is, I believe, strong evidence that China — like Russia and the United States — conducts subcritical nuclear tests.

Now this shouldn't surprise (or alarm) anyone — subcritical tests are not prohibited by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty or any other arms control treaty. The US has even made available video of one of its subcritical tests.

But the new adit may shed light on a minor controversy that erupted in 2001, coincidental to the EP-3E spy plane incident. In April 2001, the United States detected test preparations at Lop Nor. It seems that a debate erupted within the intelligence community about whether the preparations were for low-yield nuclear tests or merely subcritical tests. Someone leaked all of this to Bill Gertz.

http://lewis.armscontrolwonk.com/archive/2239/subcritical-testing-at-lop-nor