added the nukes questions

open/nuclearWeapons.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,182 @@
+Basics: 
+* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon
+* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon_design
+* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermonuclear_weapon
+
+Relates to episodes:
+* http://omegataupodcast.net/185-nuclear-test-monitoring-and-the-ctbt/
+* http://omegataupodcast.net/248-dew-sage-and-the-f-106-delta-dart/
+* http://omegataupodcast.net/258-the-history-and-technology-of-spy-satellites/
+
+
+Basics of Physics
+-------------------------------------------
+* A few of the basics about atomic structure
+* Nuclear Fission and Fusion
+* E=mc2 Energy and Mass, Binding Energy
+* Critical mass.
+* The role of Isotopes
+* Atomic Bomb vs. H-Bomb
+
+* What are the destructive effects? 
+  - Heat
+  - pressure
+  - EMP
+  - radiation?
+
+* Would you say radiation (and long term area denial) is a side-effect?
+
+
+The development of the A-Bomb
+------------------------------------------
+* Context: the Manhattan Project
+
+* Plutonium Bombs vs. Uranium Bombs
+
+* How it works
+  - critical mass; must be assembled  
+  - gun method
+  - compression using "explosive lenses". What's that?
+  - Can both be used with both material (uranium, plutonium)
+
+* Technical/Engineering Milestones in the dev of the US Bomb
+
+* Piles.
+
+* Early atomic bombs; Nagasaki and Hiroshima differences?
+
+* Key People
+
+
+H-Bombs
+------------------------------------------
+* Basic Principle
+
+* structure of the H Bomb, incl. the substructure of the secondary
+
+
+* Fusion
+  - Fission triggers fusion
+    How does this work?
+  - Teller-Ulam Design?
+    . Reflective Shell, reflects Xrays
+    . heat and compress fusion fuel. Why?
+      . transfer via radiation implosion; 73 million bar pressure!
+      . foam plasma pressure
+      . tamper-pusher ablation (much higher pressures; most likely used)
+  - Fusion creates high-speed neutrons that can then 
+    trigger fission in non-enriched materials such as depleted uranium (up to 50%) 
+    -> Multi-stage.
+  - Staging leads to effectively unlimited sized bombs -> limits in transport
+  - Fusion does not create fission products; but the fission stages do.
+  - Role of the Tamper, heat difference.
+  - Spark Plug
+  - majority of current Teller–Ulam are fission-fusion-fission weapon
+  - Interstage: "focus" four results of primary onto the secondary
+    1) expanding hot gases from high explosive charges that implode the primary; 
+    2) superheated plasma that was originally the bomb's fissile material and its tamper; 
+    3) the electromagnetic radiation; and 
+    4) the neutrons from the primary's nuclear detonation. 
+    Seems to to be the key to the design. Secret!
+    Which aspects are known?
+
+
+* What are the engineering challenges?
+  . efficiency
+  . size/weight
+  . reliability
+  . stablity/storage
+  How have bombs evolved over the decades?
+  Should we talk about some? B61, B83?
+
+* How do you vary the yield? 
+  Variable yield weapons. Doesn't this waste fuel?
+  - injecting deuterium/tritium gas
+  - timing/use of external neutron initiators
+  - shutting down the secondary
+
+* why use a tertiary instead of just a bigger secondary?
+
+* Key People  
+
+* Other kinds
+  - Boosted fission weapon
+  - Neutron bomb
+  - Radiological weapon
+  - Antimatter weapon
+  - "Dirty Bomb"
+
+* Seems to me the hight of the dev was 1945 to 1970?
+  Not much happened since then. Correct?  
+
+
+Delivery Systems
+-------------------------------------------------
+
+* Small volume/weight, large energy release.
+
+* Delivery mechamisms, challenges involved in those
+  - accuracy vs. power of the bomb
+  - Readiness, time to launch
+  - ICBM - silos
+  - SRBM - subs
+  - Bombers
+
+
+
+Creating the Fuel
+-------------------------------------------------
+
+* Refinement, Purification, Centrifuges
+  -> What is Weapons grade, why do we need "purer" stuff there?
+
+* How do you purify the necesssary ingredients?
+
+
+Testing and Maintenance
+--------------------------------------------------
+* How do you test?
+  - above
+  - under
+  - monitoring, test?
+
+* Simulate
+
+* How many tests over history?  
+
+* Stockpile maintenance
+  what do we do today now that we cannot test?
+
+
+History and Politics
+-------------------------------------------------
+* Accidents, losses.
+
+* Alltime readiness (Bombers in the air)
+
+* Stockpile in the cold war and today
+
+* Countries that have "the Bomb"
+
+* Do nukes work as a (realistic) weapon?
+  - Too much devastation
+  - Only as a deterrent
+  - Risk of inadvertent use? -> Bad deterrent?
+
+* Is there an agreement among historians whether "it was worth it"?  
+
+* Other countries
+  - French
+  - British
+  - Chinese
+  - others?
+
+* What do we think North Korea has today?
+  - Is the knowledge to build this stuff available?  
+  - What are the engineering challenges?
+  - Or is it really about the raw materials and their refinement?
+
+
+
+
+