Could Terrorists Set Off a Nuke in the USA? Yes. Easily., page 1

Originally posted by nathraq
What I don't understand is why they are saying the bomb could weigh between a ton to five tons. This is a lot of weight to be transporting around undetected. Artillery fired nukes only weigh 150-200 lbs.

A standard 2-ton pickup truck could haul it around. Failing that, a $50 rented Ryder van, fully covered, with room for the lead-lining. Also, different type of bomb. A military-quality artilliary nuke is going to be much more efficient and precise design, using a different detonation technique. A relatively low-tech bomb, on the other hand, would probably be at least the size of a soda machine, because it has to contain a different type of mechanism.

Originally posted by nathraq
The terrorists would also need some type of neutron generator to cause the reaction. Placing a bunch of uranium rings on top of each other won't work. They need that catalyst; the neutrons to "get the ball rolling".

Not in a "gun bomb". A gun bomb only needs to be precisely crafted on the inside, and slam
one bit of enriched uranium against another, like a gun.

Originally posted by nathraq
I am still highly skeptical about terrorists being able to produce and detonate a high yield nuclear device. Too much science involved.

I could definitely see some type of 'dirty bomb', but even still, it will be of low 'yield'.

High yield, yeah. This is true. This is the sort of capability that the government worries about when they talk about places like Iran. Something that has high-yield, high-death toll, and has the ability to cross thousands of miles, if not the globe, before detonation.

But consider the implications of a low-yield. They address this in the article. 1 kiloton is enough to take out a city block, and irradiate for several blocks around. A 1-kiloton explosion "dud" of a nuke, detonated in a key spot, of a major city, could kill many many thousands of people in a high-density area, at the right time of day. Considering that most city blocks are built in squares, if your radiation would cause lethal effects for only 2 block in any direction, you've got a 25-block radius of people dying from the explosion and eventual deaths from radiation poisoning or cancer.

Now consider the panic that would ensue immediately afterward... Between the savagery of people attempting to flee the city on choked roads, the looting while the cops were busy, the panick buying-and-hoarding, and the refusal of people to go to work, shutting down the infrastructure and commerce of the city, the fear impact to one city would be absolutely devastating. This doesn't even count the land rendered useless for years afterward, and the fact that no one would ever want to live in a city where a nuke went off. Property values would plummet. It could literally turn a metropolis into a ghost town within a month.

Now imagine the chain-reaction of other cities, suddenly dealing with a loss of almost all business ties to that city. In some cases, that city may have been a vital part of the infrastructure, or the source of, power, water, tourism, etc... The surrounding cities would be less harshly affected, but certainly it would cause some short and long term problems.

Now bring it up to the state level. How bad would it be for a state if, say, it's capital, or a major industrial or commercial town were suddenly be rendered useless, and the surrounding towns were now at a loss for power, water, jobs, medical attention, and so forth? Think of the crisis California faced recently, and that was only due to mismanagement. Multiply that by about 10 times, with panic and the fact that a new governor won't bring all those people back from the dead, or make the city any more habitable in the public eye.

Now how many states do we have that are major concentrated centers of Commerce and Industry? New York, Michigan, Texas, California. Those are the big 4. Imagine what might happen, if even one of those states were affected. It could affect the Nation's GDP by as much as 10-25%. Imagine the impact on the economy, nationwide, that it would have. And while some of you might cheer that "The Man" loses some money, remember that you live in a nation that is largely irrevocably dependant on "The Man".

You don't need a high-yield nuke in today's world to cripple a country. All you need is a well-placed one.