January 05, 2016
F-Word
The F-word of the evening is FUSION.
As in Fusion bomb.
One of which The People's Democratic Republic of North Korea seems to have just detonated successfully.
Note that tonights selection should not in any way preclude one from using any other F-words of one's choice.
Fusion Bombs (ie: Hydrogen bombs) potentially can have vastly more yield than pure fission weapons and, more importantly, can allow much higher yields in small packages suitable for delivery from missiles.
Coincidentally we are sure, the North Koreans just last month completed a successful test of a submarine ballistic missile. This is the third and seems to have fixed the bugs they ran into in their previous test.
BTW, that last link (38 North) is one to watch over the next few days with regard to analysis of tonights nuclear test.
UPDATE: There is some skepticism being expressed in some quarters. The Diplomat is estimating the yield at only 10 kilotons (half a Hiroshima) and Jeffery Lewis and others are suggesting that this is a fusion boosted fission weapon, which is technically a fusion weapon but not a real H-bomb.
Canopus. Exactly like tonight's test except for being in the wrong hemisphere, larger, above ground and French.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
11:33 PM
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1
10kt is pretty small. I mean, it's enough to ruin your day, but if they're claiming that it was an H-bomb, a 10kt yield basically means it didn't work. Ivy Mike (the first real H-bomb test in 1952) had a yield of 10 megatons.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Wed Jan 6 05:48:49 2016 (PiXy!)
2
I don't think an H-bomb explosion can be that small. Just the atomic bomb starter will be that big or bigger.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at Wed Jan 6 09:04:34 2016 (+rSRq)
3
Most of the fizzles in the Pacific tests were in the 1 - 3kt range, and like Steven said, that was usually the starter going off but not the bomb itself, IIRC. Keeping in mind of course that those tests were sixty years ago, even the small successful bombs were 500kt to 3Mt. So yeah, this actually sounds a lot more like a failed detonation.
Then again, the Chinese space program was worldwide joke once, too. They still may not be all that great, but they DID make it.
Then again, the Chinese space program was worldwide joke once, too. They still may not be all that great, but they DID make it.
Posted by: Ben at Wed Jan 6 11:36:36 2016 (DRaH+)
4
No, if NK is given time and its economy doesn't outright collapse before then, they have the ability to eventually produce a working H-bomb.
I just don't think it's happened yet.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at Wed Jan 6 18:32:54 2016 (+rSRq)
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