BrianT Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Check it out [url=http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1042491288304]Here[/url] Whazzup with that? They're guessing about where 450lbs of nuclear bomb material went? Gee, that's reassuring. Sad as it is, it can only be a matter of time before a whacko makes it happen somewhere in the world. Probably right here in the USA. Regards, Brian T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_dont_fret Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 It was probably stolen by US officials so we can have more nukes for the upcoming "war". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan South Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 I thought Japan was restricted from having nuclear weapons by the WWII armistice. The Black Knight always triumphs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerJay Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Plutonium, in and of itself, does not constitute a "nuclear weapon." That said, ANY plutonium can be "weaponized" by simply introducing it into a water supply. Plutonium is BAD STUFF. I'm somewhat sceptical, and tend to agree with the portion of the story that attributes the "missing" plutonium to "miscalculations" in the amount of plutonium that would be recovered from spent fuel rods. The Japanese aren't known to make many "accounting" errors, or "inventory" errors. It doesn't sound like it's a case of "we checked in X amount of plutonium, but now we can't find it." It looks like a case of "from what we expected to recover over the past couple of years, it doesn't add up." There's a difference, there. Plutonium is great for a fuel rod, 'cause it "degenerates" into lesser, but volatile, elements during the fission process. The more efficient the process, the less plutonium you end up with. Plus, you have to weigh in the "enrichment" factor. To build a bomb, you have to "enrich" the plutonium -- very costly, very dangerous, and very technically challenging. In other words, VERY EXPENSIVE. The manufacturing process costs to produce a fissionable core of plutonium for a bomb prohibits most countries from being able to produce such a bomb. Uranium cores are simpler, albeit less powerful. But hey, a nuke is still a nuke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BNC Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Japan is restricted to only having a national defense system, no mobile military. Nuclear weapons is an interesting question... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip_dup1 Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Japan`s natural resources are limited, to say the least. It derives an unfortunate amount of power from nuclear sources. If you saw the movie `Godzilla 2000`, Godzilla attacks the Tokai nuclear research facility-the same place where there had been a fatal accident just that summer, due to incredibly stupid handling of fissionable material. Anyway it is indeed unfortunate, because that was the first of a long line of scandals involving the nuclear industry-so much so that, between regular shutdowns for inspections and mandated shutdowns because of fudged safety inspections, etc, there could be a serious power problem here if we have a hot summer-which is almost certain to be the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip McDonald Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Plutonium doesn't have to be made into a fissile bomb to be a weapon. It's one of the most toxic things on the plant, I think something like a microgram can kill you. Your imagination should be able to fill in the spaces with it's uses. Japan isn't a flat-socio-political society like it has carefully crafted it's image out to be. Guitar Lessons in Augusta Georgia: www.chipmcdonald.com Eccentric blog: https://chipmcdonaldblog.blogspot.com/ / "big ass windbag" - Bruce Swedien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotown Posted January 30, 2003 Share Posted January 30, 2003 Whew.......Good thing Japan is not part of the [b]"Axis of Evil"![/b] :evil: I will sleep so much better knowing that. :rolleyes: Jotown:) "It's all good: Except when it's Great" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.