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Hey! There's no actual definition of reactor-grad plutonium here. Specifically which two or more isotopes does it contain? Qwertie ( talk) 23:53, 19 June 2016 (UTC)
It would be very interesting to know:
and probably knowing either will give us the other, see
http://www.ga.gov.au/oracle/nukexp_query.html
It would also tell us whether or not this test is already listed at List of nuclear tests#1945–1963, and enable us to link the list to this page. Andrewa 00:02, 4 June 2007 (UTC)
Mention to the fact that all the concern coming from Ted Taylor etc back in the 1970s was during an era when the best burn-up value acheivable for a PWR was ~ 20 MWh/ton. It is now over twice that. As can be seen in the IAEA's nuclear power status 2005 picture found here. In non-pdf form, although you can always look the full pdf up if you are skeptical.
Secondly, books & journal papers with the following term: "HNED's" hypothetical nuclear explosive device. Should be included. Like this paper by Kessler in 2008 HNED potential
Thirdly, Cohen has a good article on the apprehension surrounding the terrorist use of this material that should have its points mentioned. http://www.phyast.pitt.edu/~blc/book/chapter13.html#1
Fourthly, mention to the isotopic ratio of reactor grade plutonium(of typical burn-up values) after 100,1000 & 10,000 years is required as there is the issue that if geological repositories are implemented for the spent fuel of typical PWRs/BWRs etc*, then in the future these repositories would turn into weapons-grade plutonium mines due to the relatively fast decay of Pu-238 to leave Pu-239 etc, and that's to say nothing about the even more concerning suggestion of putting MAGNOX & AGR spent fuel* directly underground.
Fifthly, that breeder reactors like the Phénix reactor etc have demonstrated, on 1 hand, the ability to burn-up, MOX with 3 recycles, thus rendering the term "reactor grade" stretched to much lower Pu-239 values. While on the other hand, papers in science and global security(S&GS) have analyzed the Russian BN-800 reactor as producing pretty-much weapons grade plutonium in their core blanket fuel/various geometries. | here's the paper. Moreover the Indian PFBR would rather have RgPu over WgPu as to start with Pu-240 breeds Pu-241, a superior fuel to Pu-239 & S&GS have also analyzed its ability to also breed WgPu. | here(PDF). While I find Ramana & S&GS rarther, selectively antagonist towards breeder reactors, they seem to my untrained eye, produce reliable calculated data.
lastly, the varying weapons "attractiveness-level" of breeder reactor spent fuel, pg 4-5 of this JAEA pdf — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.251.153.186 ( talk) 10:05, 10 July 2015 (UTC)
Can someone fix this sentence, I can't even make sense of it, under the picture of the tower for the test that fizzled:: "Commentators have noted that, as this is also the most probable yield of a similar explosion, generated from a device reliant on reactor grade Plutonium, that was the product of the once-thru fuel cycle, a device of this type, would not be very much more powerful than its own weight in conventional dynamite"
2601:14D:8300:BDF4:DD42:DDCA:2FF8:1AD0 (
talk) 00:41, 9 June 2019 (UTC)
This article seems overly skeptical about the weapon usability of reactor grade plutonium. The official U.S. government view (cited here) is:
The degree to which these obstacles [to using reactor-grade plutonium in weapons] can be overcome depends on the sophistication of the state or group attempting to produce a nuclear weapon. At the lowest level of sophistication, a potential proliferating state or subnational group using designs and technologies no more sophisticated than those used in first-generation nuclear weapons could build a nuclear weapon from reactor-grade plutonium that would have an assured, reliable yield of one or a few kilotons (and a probable yield significantly higher than that). At the other end of the spectrum, advanced nuclear weapon states such as the United States and Russia, using modern designs, could produce weapons from reactor-grade plutonium having reliable explosive yields, weight, and other characteristics generally comparable to those of weapons made from weapongrade plutonium....Proliferating states using designs of intermediate sophistication could produce weapons with assured yields substantially higher than the kiloton range possible with a simple, first-generation nuclear device.
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The document that is the source of the Bunn/Holdren article is an official U.S. study entitled "Nonproliferation and arms control assessment of weapons-usable fissile material storage and excess plutonium disposition alternatives," available online here. It says (see Box 3-1, pp 37-39) that plutonium of almost any grade (excluding nearly pure Pu-238) can be used to make a nuclear weapon, and that a sophisticated designer could make a nuclear weapon of reliable yield. Given the credibility of the source (the U.S. Department of Energy, responsible for the design, production and maintenance of U.S. nuclear weapons), this seems to invalidate the speculation in this article about the non-weapon-usability of relatively low-grade plutonium. No time to fix right now, but in the meantime I invite comments. NPguy ( talk) 01:20, 7 May 2018 (UTC)
Would you say this is the type of isotopic grade of plutonium made in a nuclear power reactor? I just can't seem to summarise it properly. Qwertyxp2000 ( talk | contribs) 02:05, 5 February 2021 (UTC)
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Hey! There's no actual definition of reactor-grad plutonium here. Specifically which two or more isotopes does it contain? Qwertie ( talk) 23:53, 19 June 2016 (UTC)
It would be very interesting to know:
and probably knowing either will give us the other, see
http://www.ga.gov.au/oracle/nukexp_query.html
It would also tell us whether or not this test is already listed at List of nuclear tests#1945–1963, and enable us to link the list to this page. Andrewa 00:02, 4 June 2007 (UTC)
Mention to the fact that all the concern coming from Ted Taylor etc back in the 1970s was during an era when the best burn-up value acheivable for a PWR was ~ 20 MWh/ton. It is now over twice that. As can be seen in the IAEA's nuclear power status 2005 picture found here. In non-pdf form, although you can always look the full pdf up if you are skeptical.
Secondly, books & journal papers with the following term: "HNED's" hypothetical nuclear explosive device. Should be included. Like this paper by Kessler in 2008 HNED potential
Thirdly, Cohen has a good article on the apprehension surrounding the terrorist use of this material that should have its points mentioned. http://www.phyast.pitt.edu/~blc/book/chapter13.html#1
Fourthly, mention to the isotopic ratio of reactor grade plutonium(of typical burn-up values) after 100,1000 & 10,000 years is required as there is the issue that if geological repositories are implemented for the spent fuel of typical PWRs/BWRs etc*, then in the future these repositories would turn into weapons-grade plutonium mines due to the relatively fast decay of Pu-238 to leave Pu-239 etc, and that's to say nothing about the even more concerning suggestion of putting MAGNOX & AGR spent fuel* directly underground.
Fifthly, that breeder reactors like the Phénix reactor etc have demonstrated, on 1 hand, the ability to burn-up, MOX with 3 recycles, thus rendering the term "reactor grade" stretched to much lower Pu-239 values. While on the other hand, papers in science and global security(S&GS) have analyzed the Russian BN-800 reactor as producing pretty-much weapons grade plutonium in their core blanket fuel/various geometries. | here's the paper. Moreover the Indian PFBR would rather have RgPu over WgPu as to start with Pu-240 breeds Pu-241, a superior fuel to Pu-239 & S&GS have also analyzed its ability to also breed WgPu. | here(PDF). While I find Ramana & S&GS rarther, selectively antagonist towards breeder reactors, they seem to my untrained eye, produce reliable calculated data.
lastly, the varying weapons "attractiveness-level" of breeder reactor spent fuel, pg 4-5 of this JAEA pdf — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.251.153.186 ( talk) 10:05, 10 July 2015 (UTC)
Can someone fix this sentence, I can't even make sense of it, under the picture of the tower for the test that fizzled:: "Commentators have noted that, as this is also the most probable yield of a similar explosion, generated from a device reliant on reactor grade Plutonium, that was the product of the once-thru fuel cycle, a device of this type, would not be very much more powerful than its own weight in conventional dynamite"
2601:14D:8300:BDF4:DD42:DDCA:2FF8:1AD0 (
talk) 00:41, 9 June 2019 (UTC)
This article seems overly skeptical about the weapon usability of reactor grade plutonium. The official U.S. government view (cited here) is:
The degree to which these obstacles [to using reactor-grade plutonium in weapons] can be overcome depends on the sophistication of the state or group attempting to produce a nuclear weapon. At the lowest level of sophistication, a potential proliferating state or subnational group using designs and technologies no more sophisticated than those used in first-generation nuclear weapons could build a nuclear weapon from reactor-grade plutonium that would have an assured, reliable yield of one or a few kilotons (and a probable yield significantly higher than that). At the other end of the spectrum, advanced nuclear weapon states such as the United States and Russia, using modern designs, could produce weapons from reactor-grade plutonium having reliable explosive yields, weight, and other characteristics generally comparable to those of weapons made from weapongrade plutonium....Proliferating states using designs of intermediate sophistication could produce weapons with assured yields substantially higher than the kiloton range possible with a simple, first-generation nuclear device.
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Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot ( Report bug) 11:08, 22 September 2017 (UTC)
The document that is the source of the Bunn/Holdren article is an official U.S. study entitled "Nonproliferation and arms control assessment of weapons-usable fissile material storage and excess plutonium disposition alternatives," available online here. It says (see Box 3-1, pp 37-39) that plutonium of almost any grade (excluding nearly pure Pu-238) can be used to make a nuclear weapon, and that a sophisticated designer could make a nuclear weapon of reliable yield. Given the credibility of the source (the U.S. Department of Energy, responsible for the design, production and maintenance of U.S. nuclear weapons), this seems to invalidate the speculation in this article about the non-weapon-usability of relatively low-grade plutonium. No time to fix right now, but in the meantime I invite comments. NPguy ( talk) 01:20, 7 May 2018 (UTC)
Would you say this is the type of isotopic grade of plutonium made in a nuclear power reactor? I just can't seem to summarise it properly. Qwertyxp2000 ( talk | contribs) 02:05, 5 February 2021 (UTC)