looking for documentation for 1963 minuteman missile computer

From: Gene Buckle <geneb_at_deltasoft.com>
Date: Wed Oct 17 08:55:15 2001

> > For the gun type, all bets are off - it's a _much_ simpler design.
> >
> > I wonder what kind of yeild you'd get using a .50 diameter bullet against
> > a 1.00 diameter target. (inches)
>
> The answer is 0. The ISTR that the critical radius for U235 is about 9 cm.
> For plutonium, the critical radius is about 5 cm. Plutonium doesn't work
> too well in the gun types, so you would tend to get a small but extremely
> messy explosion even with a critical assembly.
>
> There are tricks to getting the critical radius down to lower values...
>
Hmmm. Well, like I said, I'm not a weapon designer. I don't even play
one on TV. :)

(does the trick involve Tritium, or is that just a yield enhancer for
implosion types?)

g.
Received on Wed Oct 17 2001 - 08:55:15 BST