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From: goldberg@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Mark Goldberg)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Question about Nuclear Weapons
Message-ID: <1990Oct25.151612.1966@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 25 Oct 90 15:16:12 GMT
References: <1990Oct22.035642.17548@cbnews.att.com>
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From: goldberg@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Mark Goldberg)

In article <1990Oct22.035642.17548@cbnews.att.com> v126lm7l@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Patrick E Montgomery) writes:
>From: v126lm7l@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Patrick E Montgomery)
>My question is as follows:  Are not nuclear weapons detinated buy
>compressing the core of highly radioactive material until the mass
>is critical?  If so couldn't (at least theoretically) the pressure
>of the sea water on the warhead at deep depths cause the warhead
>to get critical?

It takes a strong implosive compression, as generated by a TNT explosion
or even a low-level atomic explosion.  I got this info from watching
"Fat Man and Little Boy" plus a PBS special on the Manhattan Project.  The
info is consistent with my common-sense understanding of the process.
So while the pressure under the sea can be great, it's probably nowhere
near enough to set off the firecracker!



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