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| Science & Technology |
| US carries out subcritical nuclear test |
| 2006-08-31 |
| The United States says it has carried out a subcritical nuclear experiment successfully at an underground test site in Nevada - the 23rd such test since 1997. The test came amid intensifying US-led international efforts to press North Korea and Iran to abandon their nuclear programs. It was the 10th test under the administration of President George W Bush, despite persistent criticism by anti-nuclear groups. The previous test was conducted on February 23. Many activists and experts argue that the tests undermine the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty on nuclear weapons and that the Bush administration is carrying them out to use them to boost its efforts to develop new nuclear arms. The US Government maintains the subcritical tests do not violate the treaty because they do not involve a nuclear chain reaction and are necessary to ensure the safety of nuclear stockpiles. It also insists they are fully consistent with nuclear test moratorium it has maintained since 1992. "The Los Alamos National Laboratory conducted the experiment to gather scientific data that provides crucial information to maintain the safety and reliability of the nation's nuclear weapons without having to conduct underground nuclear tests," the department's National Nuclear Security Administration said in a statement. The administration said the subcritical tests do not involve nuclear explosion because they are designed to "examine the behaviour of plutonium as it is strongly shocked by forces produced by chemical high explosives". "No critical mass is formed and no self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction can occur," it said. |
| Posted by:john |
| #9 Well whatare they thinking up anyway.? A bunkerbusting Thermobaric dirty bomb ? |
| Posted by: J. D. Lux 2006-08-31 23:21 |
| #8 So it was India that detonated a micro-nuke in Bali? Or did they make it for the CIA? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2006-08-31 18:41 |
| #7 Yes. Even actual nuclear detonations can be uncoupled so they do not register. In 1998 India tested 5 devices. The last three were sub-kiloton tests. They were actual detonations but produced no seismograph record at outside monitoring stations. |
| Posted by: john 2006-08-31 17:59 |
| #6 The CTBT does not ban subcritical tests (which are impossible to verify anyway). The text says that subcritical nuclear test involves chemical high explosives. Is this explosion so small that it can't be uncovered by sismographs? |
| Posted by: leroidavid 2006-08-31 17:48 |
| #5 I'm amazed at the rubbish I come across by experts who quote treaties they obviously have not read. Problem is the press is even more ignorant and just reports their nonsense verbatim. We read that the USA cannot open Plutonium reprocessing plants because that would violate the NPT (a pathethic attempt to justify one of Jimmy Carter's most stupid decisions). NPT says nothing of reprocessing. Or, Bush is violating the NPT because of his agreement with Indian PM Manmohan Singh. All these experts claiming that transfer of Uranium fuel is not allowed because India has not signed the NPT. NPT is quite clear.. all transfers of fuel and technology must be under safeguards. Once you have safeguards, the NPT is ok with that. The CTBT (which the US has "un-signed") bans nuclear detonations. It does not ban subcritical tests (which are impossible to verify anyway). |
| Posted by: john 2006-08-31 17:39 |
| #4 They will not read the CTBT treaty, because they want to know nothing about it. It's the same with anti-Israelis: they will not read facts and objective articles about Israel, because they want to know nothing about it. And the same with anti-Americans: they will not read facts and objective articles about the US, because they want to know nothing about it. This mindset is the intellectual plague of western leftists: they delight in voluntary ignorance. |
| Posted by: leroidavid 2006-08-31 17:03 |
| #3 Even if they read it, John, their interpretation would be that Bush is bad and we must stop testing immediately. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2006-08-31 14:28 |
| #2 Tickling the dragon's tail. |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-08-31 13:23 |
| #1 Many activists and experts argue that the tests undermine the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty BS. These experts need to read the CTBT treaty text. |
| Posted by: john 2006-08-31 12:22 |