HOW TO MAKE AN ATOMIC BOMB
PART I
MAKING YOUR BOMB
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Making and owning an H-bomb is the kind of challenge real
Americans seek. Who wants to be a passive victim of nuclear war
when with a little effort you can be an active participant? Bomb
shelters are for losers. Who wants to huddle together unde
rground eating canned Spam? Winners want to push the button
themselves. Making your own H-bomb is a big step in nuclear
assertiveness training - it's called Taking Charge. We're sure
you'll enjoy the risks and the heady thrill of playing nuclear c
hicken.
INTRODUCTION
When the feds clamped down on The Progressive magazine for
attemptng to publish an article on the manufacture of the
hydrogen bomb It piqued our curiosity. Was it really true that
atomic and hydrogen bomb technology was so simple you could build
a n H-bomb in your own kitchen? Seven Days decided to find out.
Food editor Barbara Ehrenreich, investigative reporter Peter
Biskind, Photographer Jane Melnick and nuclear scientist Michio
Kaku were given three days to cook up a workable H-bomb. They
did and we have decided to share their culinary secrets with you.
Not that Seven Days supports nuclear terrorism. We don't. We
would prefer to die slowly from familiar poisons like low-level
radiation, microwaves, DDT, DBCP, aflatoxins, PBBs, PBCs, or food
dyes, rather than unexpectedly, say as hostage to a Latvian
nationalist brandishing a homemade bomb. In our view the real
terrorists are the governments, American, Soviet, French,
Chinese, and British, that are hoarding H-bombs for their
own use, and worse still, those governments (U.S., French and
German) that are eagerly peddling advanced nuclear technology to
countries like South Africa, Brazil, and Argentina so that they
…an make their own bombs.
When these bombs are used, and they will be, it will be the
world's big-time nuclear peddlers, along with corporate suppliers
like General Electric, Westinghouse, and Gulf Oil, that we can
thank for it. Gagging The Progressive will do no more for na
tional security than backyard bomb shelters because like it or
not the news is out. The heart of the successful H-bomb is the
successful A-bomb. Once you've got your A-bombs made,the rest if
frosting on the cake. All you have to do is set them up so that
when they detonate they'll start off a hydrogen-fusion reaction.
1.GETTING THE INGREDIENTS
Uranium is the basic ingredient of the A-bomb. When a uranium
atom's nucleus splits apart it releases a tremendous amount of
energy (for its size). And it emits neutrons which go on to
split other nearby uranium nuclei, releasing more energy, in what
is called a 'chain reaction'. (When atoms split matter is
converted into energy according to Einstein's equation E=mc2.
What better way to mark his centennial than with your own atomic
fireworks?) There are two kinds (isotopes) of uranium, the
rare U-235, used in bombs, and the more common, heavier, but
useless U-238. Natural uranium contains less than 1 percent U-
235 and in order to be usable in bombs it has to be 'enriched' to
90percent U-235 and only 10 percent U-238. Plutonium-239 c an
also be used i nbombs as a substitute for U-235. Ten pounds of
U-235 (or slightly less plutonium) is all that is necessary for a
bomb. Less than ten pounds won't give you a critical mass. So
purifying or enriching naturally occuring uranium is likely to be
your first big hurdle. It is infinitely easy to steal ready-to-
use enriched uranium or plutonium than to enrich some yourself.
And stealing uranium is not as hard as it sounds. There are at
least three sources of enriched uranium or p lutonium. Enriched
uranium is manufactured at a gaseous diffusion plant in
Portsmouth Ohio. From there it is shipped in 10 liter bottles by
airplane and trucks to conversion plants that turn it into
uranium oxide or uranium metal. Each 10 liter bottle contains 7
kilograms of U-235, and there are 20 bottles to a typical
shipment. Conversion facilities exist at Hematite, Missouri,
Apollo, Pennsylvania, and Erwin, Tennessee. The Kerr-McGee plant
at Crescent Oklahoma, where Karen Silkwood worke d, was a
conversion plant that 'lost' 40 lbs of plutonium. Enriched
uranium can be stolen from these plants or from fuel- fabricating
plants like those in New Haven, San Diego, or Lynchburg,
Virginia. (A former Kerr-McGee supervisor, James V. Smith ,
when asked at the Silkwood trial if there were any security
precautions at the plant to prevent theft, testified that 'There
were none of any kind, no guards, no fences, no nothing.')
Plutonium can be obtained from places like United Nuclear in Paw
ling, New York, Nuclear Fuel Services in Erwin, Tennessee,
General Elecric in Pleasanton, California, Westinghouse in
Cheswick, Pennsylvania, Nuclear Materials and Equipment
Corporation (NUMEC) in Leechburg, Pennsylvania, and plants in
Hanfford, Washington and Morris, Illinois. According to Rolling
Stone magazine the Isrealis were involved in the theft of
plutonium from NUMEC. Finally you can steal enriched uranium or
plutonium while it's en-route from conversion plants to fuel,
fabricating plants. It is usually transported (by air or truck)
in the form of uranium oxide, a brownish powder resembling
instant coffee, or as a metal, coming in small chunks called
'broken buttons.' Both forms are shipped in small cans stacked in
5-inch cylind ers braced with welded struts in the center of
ordinary 55,gallon steel drums. The drums weigh about 100 pounds
and are clearly marked 'Fissible Material' or 'Danger,
Plutonium.' A typical shipment might go from the enrichment plant
at Portsmouth, O hio to the conversion plant in Hematite Missouri
then to Kansas City by truck where it would be flown to Los
Angeles and then trucked down to the General Atomic plant in San
Diego. The plans for
the General Atomic plant are on file at the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission's reading room at 1717 H Street NW Washington. A
Xerox machine is provided for the convenience of the public. If
you can't get hold of any enriched uranium you'll have to set tle
for commercial grade(20 percent U-235). This can be stolen from
university reactors of a type called TRIGA Mark II, where
security is even more casual than at commercial plants. If
stealing uranium seems too tacky you can buy it. Unenriched ur
anium is available at any chemical supply house for $23 a pound.
Commercial,grade (3 to 20 percent enriched) is available for $40
a pound from Gulf Atomic. You'll have to enrich it further
yourself. Quite frankly this can be something of a pain in
the ass. You'll need to start with a little more than 50 pounds
of commercial-grade uranium (it's only 20 percent U-235 at best,
and you need 10 pounds of U-235 so...). But with a little
kitchen,table chemistry you'll be able to convert the solid u
ranium oxide you've purchased into a liquid form. Once you've
done that You'll be able to seperate the U-235 you'll need from
the U-238. First pour a few gallons of concentrated hydroflouric
acid into your uranium oxide, converting it to uranium te
traflouride. (Safety note: Concentrated hydroflouric acid is so
corrosive that it will eat its way through glass, so store it
only in plastic. Used 2-gallon plastic milk containers will do.)
Now you have to convert your uranium tetraflouride to ur anium
hexaflouride, the gaseous form of uranium, which is convenient
for seperating out the isotope U-235 from U-238. To get the
hexaflouride form bubble flourine gas into yourcontainer of
uranium tetraflouride. Flourine is available in pressurized
tanks from chemical-supply firms. Be careful how you use it
though because flourine is several times more deadly than
chlorine, the classic World War I poison gas. Chemists reccomend
that you carry out this step under a stove hood (the kind used t
o remove unpleasant cooking odors). If you've done you're
chemistry right you should now have a generous supply of uranium
hexaflouride ready for enriching. In the old horse-and-buggy
days of A-bomb manufacture the enrichment was carried out by pas
sing the uranium hexaflouride through hundreds of miles of pipes,
tubes, and membranes, until the U-235 was event usually seperated
from the U-238. This gaseous-diffusion process, as it was called
is difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. Gaseous-diffusion
plants cover hundreds of acres and cost in the neighborhood of
$2-billion each. So forget it. There are easier and cheaper
ways to enrich your uranium. First transform the gas into a
liquid by subjecting it to pressure. You can use a b icycle pump
for this. Then make a simple home centerfuge, Fill a standard-
size bucket one-quarter full of liquid uranium hexaflouride.
Attach a six-foot rope to the bucket handle. Now swing the rope
(and attached bucket) around your head as fast a s possible.
Keep this up for about 45 minutes. Slow down gradually, and very
gently put the bucket on the floor. The U-235, which is lighter,
will have risen to the top, where it can be skimmed off like
cream. Repeat this step until you have the required 10 pounds of
uranium. (Safety note, Don't put all your enriched uranium
hexaflouride in one bucket. Use at least two or three buckets
and keep them in separate corners of the room. This will prevent
the premature build-up of a critical ma ss.) Now it's time to
convert your enriched uranium back to metal form. This is easily
enough accomplished by spooning several ladlefuls of calcium
(available in tablet form from your drugstore) into each bucket
of uranium. The calcium will react w ith the uranium hexafloride
to produce calcium flouride, a colorless salt which can be easily
be separated from your pure enriched uranium metal.
A few precautions, Uranium is not dangerously radioactive in
the amounts
you'll be handling. If you plan to make more than one bomb it
might be wise to wear gloves and a lead apron, the kind you can
buy in dental supply stores. Plutonium is one of the most toxic
substances known. If inhaled a thousandth of a gram can ca use
massive fibrosis of the lungs, a painful way to go. Even a
millionth of a gram in the lungs will cause cancer. If eaten
plutonium is metabolized like calcium. It goes straight to the
bones where it gives out alpha particles preventing bone mar row
from manufacturing red blood cells. The best way to avoid
inhaling plutonium is to hold your breath while handling it.
This is too difficult wear a mask. To avoid ingesting plutonium
orally follow this simple rule, never make an A-bomb on an e mpty
stomach. If you find yourself dozing off while you're working or
if you begin to glow in the dark, it might be wise to take a
blood count. Prick your finger with a sterile pin, place a drop
of blood on a microscope slide, cover it with a cover
slip, and examine under a micalleable, like gold, so you should
have no trouble hammering it into the bowl to get a good fit.
Take another five-pound hunk of uranium and fit it into a second
stainless steel bowl. These two bowls of U-235 are the '
subcritical masses' which together forcefully will provide the
critical mass that makes your A-bomb go. Keep them a respectful
distance apart while working because you don't want them to 'go
critical' on you...at least not yet. Now hollow out the bo dy of
an old vacuum cleaner and place your two hemispherical bowls
inside, open ends facing each other, no less than seven inches
apart, using masking tape to set them up in position. The reason
for the steel bowls and the vacuum cleaner, in case yo ur
wondering, is that these help reflect the neutrons back into the
uranium for a more efficient explosion. 'A loose neutron is a
useless neutron' as the A-bomb pioneers used to say. As far as
the A-bomb goes you're almost done. The final problem i s to
figure out how to get the two U-235 hemispheres to smash into
each other with sufficient force to set off a truly effective
fission reaction. Almost any type of explosive can be used to
drive them together. Gunpowder, for example, is easily ma de at
home from potassium nitrate, sulpher, and carbon. Or you can get
some blasting caps or TNT, buy them or steal them from a
construction site. Best of all is C4 plastic explosive. You can
mold it around your bowls and it's fairly safe to work with (but
it might be wise to shape it around an extra salad bowl in
another room and then fit it to your stainless steel bowls).
Once the explosives are in place all you need to do is hook up a
simple detonation device with a few batteries, a switc h, and
some wire. Remember though that it is essential that the two
charges, one on each side of the casing, go off at once. Now put
the whole thing in the casing of an old Hoover vacuum cleaner and
your finished with this part of the process. The
rest is easy.
A word to the wise about wastes, After your A-bomb is completed
you'll have a pile of moderately fatal radioactive wastes like U-
238. These are not dangerous, but you do have to get rid of
them. You can flush leftovers down the toilet (don't worr y
about polluting the ocean, there is already so much radioactive
waste there, a few more bucketfuls won't make waves), or if your
the fastidious type, the kind who never leaves gum under their
seat at the movies, you can seal the nasty stuff in coff ee cans
and bury it in the backyard, just like Uncle Sam does. If the
neighbors' kids have a habit of trampling the lawn, tell them to
play over by the waste. You'll soon find that they're spending
most of their time in bed.
Going first class, If you're like us, you're feeling the
economic pinch, and you'll want to make your bonmb as
inexpensively as possible, consonant of course with reasonable
yield. The recipe we've given is for a budget, pleasing H-bomb,
no frills , no flourishes, just your basic 5-megaton bomb,
capable of wiping out the New York metropolitan area, the Bay
area, or Boston. But don't forget, your H-bomb will only be as
good as the A-bombs in it. If you want to spend a little more
money you ca n punch-up your A-bomb considerably. Instead of
centerfuging your uranium by hand, you can buy a commercial
centerfuge (Fisher Scientific sells one for about $1000). You
also might want to be fussier about your design. The Hiroshima
bomb, a relati vely crude one, only fissioned 1 percent of it's
uranium and yielded only 13 kilotons. In order to fission more
of the uranium, the force of your explosive 'trigger' has got to
be evenly diffused around the sphere, the same pressure has to be
exerte d on every point of the sphere simultaneously. (It was a
technique for producing this sort of simultaneous detonation by
fashioning the explosives into lenses that the government accused
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg of trying to steal).
3 .MAKE THREE MORE A-BOMBS FOLLOWING THE DIRECTIONS ABOVE
PART II
PUTTING YOUR H-BOMB TOGETHER
============================
The heart of the H-bomb is the fusion process. Several A-bombs
are detonated in such a way as to create the extremely high
temperature (100, 000,000o C) necessary to fuse lithium deuteride
(LiD) into helium. When the lithium nucleus slams into th e
deuterium nucleus, two helium nuclei are created, and if this
happens to enough deuterium nuclei rapidly enough the result is
an enormous amount of energy, the energy of the H-bomb. And you
don't have to worry about stealing lithium deuteride, it can be
purchased from any chemical-supply house. It costs $1000 a
pound. If your budget won't allow it you can substitute lithium
hydride at $40 a pound. You will need at least 100 pounds, It's
a corrosive and toxic powder so be careful. Place th e lithium
deuteride or hydride in glass jars and surround it with four A-
bombs in their casings. Attach one to the same detonator so that
they will go off simultaneously. The container for the whole
thing is no problem. They can be placed anywhere
(inside an old stereo console, a discarded refrigerator, etc.).
When the detonator sets off the four A-bombs all eight
hemispheres of fissionable material will slam into each other at
the same time creating four critical masses and four detonations.
This will raise te temperature of the lithium deuteride to 100
million degrees C fast enough (a few billionths of a second) so
that the lithium will not be blown all over the neighborhood
before the nuclei have time to fuse. The result, at least 1 000
times the punch of the puny A-bomb that leveled Hiroshima (20
million tons of TNT vs. 20 thousand tons.)
PART III
WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR BOMB
=========================
Now that you have a fully assembled H-bomb housed in an
atractive console of your choice you may be wondering, What
should I do with it? Every family will have to answer this
question according to its own tastes and preferences but you may
want to
explore some possibilities which have been successfully
pioneered by the American government.
1.SELL YOUR BOMB AND MAKE A PILE OF MONEY
In these days of rising inflation, rising unemployment, and an
uncertain economic outlook, few businesses make as much sense as
weapons production. If your career forcast is cloudy, bomb sales
may be the only sure way to avoid the humiliation of r eceiving
welefare or unemployment. At any income level a home H-bomb
business can be an invaluable income supplement, and certainly a
profitable alternative to selling Tupperware or pirated Girl
Scout cookies. Unfortunately for the family bomb busin ess, big
government has already cornered a large part of the world market.
But this does not mean that there is a shortage of potential
customers. The raid on Entebee was the Waterloo of hijacking,
and many nationalist groups are now on the alert f or new means
to get their message across. They'd jump at the chance to get
hold of an H-bomb. Emerging nations that can't ante up enough
rice or sugar to buy themselves a reactor from G.E. or
Westinghouse are also shopping around. You may wonder about the
ethics of selling to nations or groups whose goal you disapprove
of. But here again take a tip from our government, forget
ideology It's cash that
counts. And remember, H-bomb sales have a way of escalating,
almost like a chain reaction. Suppose you make a sale to South
Yemen which you believe to be a Soviet puppet. Well within a few
days some discrete inquiries from North Yemen and possibly
the Saudis, the Egyptians and the Ethiopians as well can be
expected. Similarly, a sale to the IRA will generate a sale to
the Ulster government, a sale to the Tanzanians will bring the
Ugandans running and so forth. It doesn't matter which side y
our on, only how many sides there are. Don't forget about the
possibility of repeat sales to the same customer. As the
experience of the U.S and the U.S.S.R. has shown, each
individual nation has a potentially infinite need for H-bombs.
No custome r, no matter how small, can ever have too many.
2.USE YOUR BOMB AT HOME
Many families are attracted to the H-bomb simply as a
'deterrent'. A discrete sticker on the door or on the living
room window saying 'This Home Protected by H-bomb' will
discourage IRS investigators, census takers, and Jehovah's
Witnesses. You'l l be suprised how fast the crime rate will go
down and property values will go up. And once the news gets out
that you are a home H-bomb owner you'll find that you have
unexpected leverage in neighborhood disputes over everything from
parking places
and stereo noise levels to schoolm tax rates. So relax and
enjoy the pride and excitement of home H-bomb ownership!
IS IT FOR YOU?
Let's be honest. The H-bomb isn't for everyone. Frankly there
are people who can't handle it. They break out in hives at the
very mention of mega-deaths, fallout, radiation sickness.
The following quiz will help you find out whether you have what
it takes for home H-bomb ownership. If you can answer 'yes' to
six or more of these questions, then your emotionally eligible to
join the nuclear club. If not, a more conventional we apon may
be more your cup of tea, try botulism-toxin, laser rays, or nerve
gas.
1. I ignore the demands of others.
2. I subscribe to one or more of the following: Soldier of
Fortune, Hustler,Popular Mechanics, Self.
3. Though I have many interesting acquaintances, I am my own
best
friend.
4. I know what to say after you say 'Hello', but I am seldom
interested in
pursuing the conversation.
5. I have seen the movie 'The Deer Hunter' more than once.
6. I know that everone can be a winner if they want to, and I
resent
whiners.
7. I own one or more of the following: handgun, video game,
trash
compactor, snowmobile.
8. I am convinced that leukemia is psychosomatic.
9. I am aware that most vegetarians are sexually impotent.
10. I have read evidence that solar energy is a Communist
conspiracy.
MYTHS ABOUT NUCLEAR WAR
Ever since the first mushroom cloud over Hiroshima ushered in
the atomic age a small group of nay-sayers and doom-mongers has
lobbied, campaigned and demonstrated to convince Americans that
H-bomb ownership, along with nuclear power is dangerous an d
unhealthy. Using their virtual stranglehold over the media these
people have tried to discredit everything nuclear from energy to
war. They have vastly overrated the risks of nuclear bombs and
left many Americans feeling demoralized and indecisiv e, not sure
where the truth lies.
Well, here are the myths, and here are the facts.
Myth: After a nuclear exchange the earth will no longer be
suitable for human habitation.
Fact: This is completely false. According to one scientist
(quoted in John McPee's The Curve of Binding Energy)' The largest
bomb that has ever been exploded anywhere was 60 megatons, and
that is one-thousandth the force of an earthquake, one-tho
usandth the force of a hurricane. We have lived with earthquakes
and hurricanes for a long time. Another scientist adds, 'It is
often assumed that a full blown nuclear war would be the end of
life on earth. That is far from the truth. To end life on
earth would take at least a thousand times the total yield of
all the nuclear explosives existing in the world, and probably
alot more.' Even if humans succumbed, many forms of life would
survive a nuclear free-for-all, cockroaches, certain forms of
bacteria, & lichens.
Myth: Radiation is bad for you.
Fact: Everything is bad for you if you have too much of it.
If you eat too many bananas you'll get a stomach-ache. If you
get too much sun you can get sunburned (or even skin cancer).
Same thing with radiation. Too much may make you feel under the
weather, but nuclear industry officials insist that there is no
evidence that low-level radiation has any really serious adverse
effects. And, high-level radiation may bring unexpected
benefits. It speeds up evolution by weeding out unwanted g
enetic types and creating new ones. (Remember the old saying,
'Two heads are better than one.') Nearer home it's plain that
radiation will get rid of pesky crab grass and weeds, and
teenagers will find that brief exposure to a nuclear burst vapori
zes acne and other skin blemishes. (Many survivors of the
Hiroshima
bomb found that they were free from skin and it's attendant
problems forever.)