Delivery Systems and Command Structure

Delivery mechamisms, challenges involved in those
- ICBM - silos
- SRBM - subs
- Bombers: Bombs, Cruise Missiles
- MIRVs
How are the weapons secured (i.e. the famous launch codes)? - Probably not that much public information on that...
Tactical NWs (like: Davy Crockett) seem to be a rather odd idea.
Interplay with warhead design
- Size/weight reduction
- guidance and accuracy vs. power of the bomb
Discuss a few milestone warheads, maybe in use today?
Are the warheads different for the different delivery mechanisms?
Readiness, time to launch
What is the command structure, for example, in the US

Testing, Design and Maintenance

How do you test?
- above the ground
- under the ground (challenge of transposing the results)
- monitoring, test -> CTBT episode
Effects of atmospheric nuclear testing on the environment/climate.
- Remainings of testings still in the atmosphere ? (-> WW1/WW2 Shipwreks reused to have "clean" steel)
- Not just testing (and use) cause polution. Also environmental damages around research/production sites (Majak, Hanford...)
How many tests over history?
Now that testing is banned, how are NW developed and evaluated?
- Simulate: impact of modern computing on from-scratch development How do we know they are accurate? Calibration?
- How is yield calculated without testing?
- What other parameters are interesting in addition to yield? How do you characterize a NW?
- I seem to know that the NIF has a role there.
Stockpile maintenance
- What are the basic limitations to durability?
- What is being done to maintain the stockpile?
- How does decay affect reliabilty and safe storage?
Are we still developing new NW today? Seems to me the hight of the dev was 1945 to 1980s? Not much happened since then. Correct?
What are the challenges in destroying NWs (e.g., in the context of arms reduction)

Rivalry between Los Alamos National Lab and Lawrence Livermore National Lab / SUNDIAL (Proposed 10 gigaton yield weapon)
Permanent readiness (Bombers with weapons in the air)
Historical nuclear attack readiness/response plans
(Almost) Accidents, Losses of Weapons There was a B-52 above Spain ....
Size and structure of the stockpile in the cold war and today
Which countries have NW?
- US
- Russia
- French
- British
- Chinese
- Israel
- India
- Pakistan
- others?
Are there any significant differences in the NWs of different countries? E.g., russian vs. US?
Why do countries want the bomb? Can't use it, realistically!?
Is there an agreement among historians whether "it was worth it" to have NW in the cold war?
What do we think North Korea has today?
- Is the knowledge to build NW available?
- What are the engineering challenges that are not public knowledge?
- Or is it really about the raw materials and their refinement process?
How long would it take a developed country to build a nuke if they decided to do so?
- starting from unclassified, available scientific data,
- no financial constraints)
- Cost and time?