[extropy-chat] Suitcase nukes (was: let's say)

[Samantha Atkins]

Everything is a technological dead end if it cannot be defended against 
every possible terrorist act?  This would be life totally controlled by 
our fear.  I wouldn't want to live there.  Would you?

- samantha

On Mar 20, 2005, at 9:32 PM, spike wrote:

>> J. Andrew Rogers:
>>
>> Even if we posit that someone stole the mini-nukes in the '90s, the
>> devices as stolen would already be relatively inert in all 
>> likelihood...
>>
>> j. andrew rogers
>
>
> I would like to think that is the case J. Andrew, but the
> short half life element is the tritium (~12 yrs).  If the
> suitcase nuke consisted of only fission elements and
> high explosives, the part that is used as the fusion
> initiator in modern nukes, then that part could
> likely go without maintenance for a long time.
>
> Terrorists might choose to use the fission elements
> to make a dirty bomb we could suppose, perhaps even
> using a subway to spread radioactive material.  Subways
> might be a technological dead end, for they appear
> inherently undefendable against this sort of thing.
>
> spike
>
>
>
>
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