Handheld 2 kiloton Nukes On US Soil

Even Russia wasn't so stupid as to give a weapon like that to Sadam.

Originally posted by HowardRoark
Even Russia wasn't so stupid as to give a weapon like that to Sadam.

I generally operate under the assumption that Russia is more crazy than America. I feel this is a good assumption because I am convinced that the cold makes people both mean and crazy, as evidenced by spending 10 minutes with anyone from Minnesota. If we gave him nerve gas, who is to say that Russia wouldn't give him (or one of his predecessors) another kind of WMD, especially when at the time there was almost no danger of it being used on anyone except Israel- a nation that almost nobody but America would shed a tear for.

Red mercury has something to do with the nazi bell and what hes talking about I think is one of hitlers bombs but new age technology looks like hes right but there are no terroist with nuclear bombs or the red murcury on us soil or they would have been already lite off if there were any, it takes goverment power like china and the US and Great Britan or Russia there might be people with that technology in the us but I really dought it. The people who probably have that technology is our goverment sientist.Some universitys have some expirimental technology The science newsgroups have been a-buzz with tales of a 2-kiloton yield Russian red mercury fusion device, theoretically in the possession of terrorists. This, of course, begs the question: What Is Red Mercury? The answer to this question depends largely on who you ask. Is red mercury real? Absolutely, but definitions vary. If you had asked me before I did a bit of Internet research, I would have given you the standard cinnabar/vermillion answer. However, the Russium tritium fusion bomb is more interesting...

1. Cinnabar/Vermillion
Cinnabar is naturally-occurring mercuric sulfide (HgS), while vermillion is the name given to the red pigment derived from either natural or manufactured cinnabar.

2. Mercury (II) Iodide
The alpha crystalline form of mercury (II) iodide is called 'red mercury', which changes to the yellow beta form at 127�C.

3. Any Red-Colored Mercury Compound Originating in Russia
as in the cold war definition of 'Red'. I doubt anyone is using 'red mercury' in this manner, but it's a possible interpretation.

4. A Ballotechnic Mercury Compound
Presumably red in color. Ballotechnics are substances which react very energetically in response to high-pressure shock compression. Google's Sci.Chem group has had a lively ongoing discussion about the possiblity of a an explosive form of mercury antimony oxide. According to some reports, red mercury is a cherry red semi-liquid which is produced by irradiating elemental mercury with mercury antimony oxide in a Russian nuclear reactor. Some people think that red mercury is so explosive that it can be used to trigger a fusion reaction in tritium or deuterium-tritium mixture. Pure fusion devices don't require fissionable material, so it's easier to get the materials needed to make one and easier to transport said materials from one place to another. Other reports refer to a documentary in which is was possible to read a report on Hg2Sb207, in which the compound had a density of 20.20 Kg/dm3 (!). Personally, I find it plausible that mercury antimony oxide, as a low density (nonradioactive?) powder, may be of interest as a ballotechnic material. The high-density material seems unlikely. It would also seem unreasonably dangerous (to the maker) to use a ballotechnic material in a fusion device. One intriguing source mentions a liquid explosive, HgSbO, made by Du Pont laboratories and listed in the international chemical register as number 20720-76-7. Anyone care to look it up?

5. A Military Code Name for a New Nuclear Material

As I understand it, this definition originates from the extraordinarily high prices commanded and paid for a substance called 'red mercury', which was manufactured in Russia. The price ($200-300K per kilogram) and trade restrictions were consistent with a nuclear material as opposed to cinnabar