Nuclear Technology

[BrianNStPaul]

I was curious to find out what the current state of nuclear technology was. It seems that every other week we hear of a potential new entry into the nuclear weapons club. How many of these nations have the simpler fission devices and how many have fusion devices? Also, given the number of countries possessing nuclear weapons of either type, I gather that simpler and more efficient ways to enrich uranium and chemically process plutonium from irradiated uranium have been developed. From what I’ve read the way the United States enriched uranium and processed plutonium would be difficult to keep secret. The facilities were enormous and impossible to disguise as any other type of industrial plant. Oh and by the way, how many of the former Soviet nations are maintaining their weapons?