looking for documentation for 1963 minuteman missile computer

From: Jim Tuck <technos_at_nerdland.org>
Date: Tue Oct 16 12:24:26 2001

On Wednesday, October 17, 2001 9:55 AM, Gene Buckle [SMTP:geneb_at_deltasoft.com]
wrote:
> > > 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.
>
Naw.. Neutron generators.. Basically a golfball sized device that spits off
tons of neutrons.
Received on Tue Oct 16 2001 - 12:24:26 BST