>>"The device basically works when the detonated TNT compresses the Plutonium into a critical mass. The critical mass then produces a nuclear chain reaction similar to the domino chain reaction . . . .The chain reaction then promptly produces a big thermonuclear reaction. And there you have it, a 10 megaton explosion!"<<
This is actually true - and it's about the way I could explain how a nuclear bomb works, but there's much more to it, of course. The Manhattan Project was the biggest, most expensive project during WWII - employed more people than any other, in several states. I've seen diagrams of Fat Man and Little Boy - just from the perspective of machining the parts and assembling them, incredibly complex. Not for amateurs.
Yesterday on BBC they were showing scenes from what was alleged to be a secret Al Qaeda lab - one of the places they found books telling how to make bombs, etc. It was filthy, no specialized equipment, just shelves with bottles of this and that, and some tables.
Even if they had real instructions, that doesn't mean they have the facilities or the personnel to make anything more complicated than a conventional bomb. |
