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From: weemba@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Matthew P. Wiener)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.sci
Subject: Re: Small Nuclear Bombs
Message-ID: <13811@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Thu, 15-May-86 17:39:42 EDT
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Posted: Thu May 15 17:39:42 1986
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In article <684@riccb.UUCP> jmc@riccb.UUCP (Jeff McQuinn ) writes:
>>     I was talking to an ex-LLL physicist once who told me that there 
>> is an isotope of Californium with a *very small* critical mass (a few
>> grams, I think it was). This opened the theoretical possibility of a
>> hand grenade sized nuclear weapon.
>
>Californium, isn't that one of those wonderful man-made elements whose shelf
>life can be measured in microseconds? No wonder it's "theoretically" possible.

The theoretical possibility is not for a californium bomb--we're mellow
remember--but for an xx-ium bomb where xx-ium has *very small* critical
mass and long enough half life to assemble the bomb.  There is the old
conjecture that elements around 124 or so in atomic number are part of
new stable range.  Maybe that may only mean a ten day half-life at best,
but the possibility is definitely there.

ucbvax!brahms!weemba	Matthew P Wiener/UCB Math Dept/Berkeley CA 94720