Ballotechnics
Research
While most of the research performed on ballotechnics originates from Sandia National Laboratories, the researchers involved primarily focus on chemical and simulation research, not nuclear weapons research. Other research has been performed at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Possible applications
Ballotechnics are a controversial topic in arms control, where it is claimed they may have a high enough energy density to be useful as a replacement for the fission-based “primary” in a fusion bomb. If this were to be true, the lack of fissile material could make attempts to stop nuclear proliferation almost impossible, as existing methods are based largely on control of the material and the enrichment process that extracts it.
Red Mercury connections
The main proponent of ballotechnics as a claimed fusion initiator is Samuel Cohen, a somewhat controversial figure in the nuclear arms field who claims that the almost certainly mythical “red mercury” is in fact a powerful ballotechnic material, and that the Soviets have perfected its use and used it to create a number of softball-sized “mini-nukes”.
Most are highly sceptical of these claims due to the physics involved, as it is not clear how heat could be used to trigger the implosion required. It has been recorded that Edward Teller laughed the concept off entirely.
Further damaging the already-low credibility of this claim is that Cohen claimed that Saddam Hussein was in possession of about 50 of these devices and planned to use them against the United States during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. To date none have been reported found.
See also
Red mercury
References
^ Boslough, M.B. (1 January 1989). “A thermochemical model for shock-induced chemical reactions in porous solids: Analogs and contrasts to detonation”. 9. international symposium on detonation. Portland, OR, USA. http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/product.biblio.jsp?osti_id=5978092.
^ Graham, R. A.; M. U. Anderson, Y. Horie, S. -K. You and G. T. Holman (September 1993). “Pressure measurements in chemically reacting powder mixtures with the Bauer piezoelectric polymer gauge”. Shock Waves (Springer Berlin / Heidelberg) 3 (2): 7982. doi:10.1007/BF02115887. http://www.springerlink.com/content/r67216140h278437/#search=%22ballotechnic%22.
^ Xu, Xiao; Naresh N. Thadhani (August 15, 2004). “Investigation of shock-induced reaction behavior of as-blended and ball-milled Ni + Ti powder mixtures using time-resolved stress measurements”. Journal of Applied Physics 96 (4): 20002009. doi:10.1063/1.1773380. http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=JAPIAU000096000004002000000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes.
Categories: Chemical processes | Pseudophysics
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These items are very dangerous and we’re very lucky that none were ever found in possession of any of our enemies. That also could be bad news though because maybe they still have them somewhere that we don’t know about. That makes me a little nervous.