Environment & Energy
In reply to the discussion: ERRORS in rebuttal to "Pandora's Promise" [View all]PamW
(1,825 posts)FBaggins,
EXCELLENT POST
You've explain it all very well. I wish I had done as good a job.
It's upsetting that some scientists have chosen to "dance around" the issue. The problem with doing that is that; although you definitely will NOT FOOL a technically adept audience of scientists; you do give a FALSE impression to the non-scientists.
I wish more scientists would consider what the non-scientists will "take away" from the talk; and whether they get an ERRONEOUS message because the speaker was SLOPPY in their terminology or how they said something.
EXACTLY; Pu-240 IS a CONTAMINANT; see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon_design
The implosion method can use either uranium or plutonium as fuel. The gun method only uses uranium. Plutonium is considered impractical for the gun method because of early triggering due to Pu-240 contamination and due to its time constant for prompt critical fission being much shorter than that of U-235.
FBaggins; you do a EXCELLENT job of explaining something that the non-scientist would get confused about in Selden's presentation.
The question about whether you can use Pu-240 in the weapon. Really the word should be tolerate.
It's something that hurts you and doesn't help you; but the question is if you can "tolerate" it.
However, as you point out; if you are given a ton of the Pu-240; you are no closer to getting a bomb than before.
Maybe the non-technical people will get it if I use an analogy. Consider Pu-240 as charcoal briquettes. You can use it in your grill.
However, if all you have available is charcoal briquettes; can you grill tonight?
You can't get the grill fire going unless you have some lighter fluid or some newspapers or kindling or you have one of those grill chimneys.
If all you have is charcoal briquettes spread about on the deck of your grill; it's going to be mighty hard getting all that to catch fire so you can grill.
You're NOT grilling tonight if all you have is charcoal briquettes.
PamW