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From: bill@sigma.UUCP (William Swan)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.sci
Subject: Re: Small Nuclear Bombs
Message-ID: <717@sigma.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 19-May-86 15:57:51 EDT
Article-I.D.: sigma.717
Posted: Mon May 19 15:57:51 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 23-May-86 22:18:22 EDT
References: <358@drutx.UUCP> <1063@whuxl.UUCP> <2384@jhunix.UUCP>
Reply-To: bill@sigma.UUCP (William Swan)
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Xref: linus net.politics:15388 net.sci:588

In article <3484@hplabsb.UUCP> bl@hplabsb.UUCP (Bruce T. Lowerre) 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.
>Californium, symbol Cf, Atomic number 98, has the following isotopes:
>[...]
>In any case, hardly microseconds.

Egad, what a letter bomb that'd make! :-)

Seriously.. What kind of shielding would such a device require to handle it
"safely" (reduce radiation levels to something approximating the levels in
our Seattle rainwater)?? Could one still carry it?