Recently in this thread someone mentioned that “suitcase nukes” aren’t currently possible.
That’s reassuring if true. Is it?
What’s the smallest possible nuclear weapon?
What’s the most powerful bomb that would fit in a suitcase or a similar sized container?
And how likely is it that such weapons could be obtained and brought into the U.S. by terrorists? I know bin Laden’s people couldn’t make a nuke, but they have many supporters within Pakistan, which does have nukes. It doesn’t seem so far-fetched to me that a nuclear device could be stolen from Pakistan and brought by boat to a West Coast harbor.
I was wondering what is the smallest nuclear weapon to do some localized damage? Everything is compared to how small the Hiroshima bomb was - relatively. What would be the smallest nuclear weapon possible? Or, is there some “break even” point between the largest conventional bomb and the smallest nuclear bomb?
I recall Monty Python’s “Novelty Nuclear Weapon” starts parties off with a bang!
Not a pleasant topic to think about, but these thoughts come to mind.
IIRC Suitcase Nukes are a bit misleading. I’m looking for a cite but in short I don’t believe a nuke needs to be very big. This also answers Jinx’s question a bit…
Critical mass is what defines the ‘smallest’ size a nuke can be. Basically there is a lower liit to the amount of nuclear material you cna have and still expect an explosion. I think it differs for different bombs (plutonium vs. uranium) but the critical mass is, IIRC, around 40 Kg. If you have less mass than that you can still get an explosion or other have other nasty things happen but you won’t get the city-levelling effect of a ‘proper’ nuke (you might instead level a few blocks around you).
Given that plutonium and uranium are quite dense you don’t need a very large physical package to get your 40 Kg. Maybe about the size of a large softball. Of course, some other goodies need to be thrown in to make the whole thing work (conventional explosives for one thing) but in short the whole package for a ‘small’ nuclear bomb could, in fact, fit into a very large suitcase.
However, realize that this suitcase is going to be quite heavy so it would not be easy to tote around by hand. Nevertheless you could certainly fit one inside a car which is good (or actually bad) enough.
Besides the quite interesting discussion contained in the thread, there are links to other threads and to a lot of information about various kinds/sizes of nukes.
The critical mass for Plutonium is approx. 10kg while for Uranium it is 15kg. For either, the size and configuration of the detonating head requires a great deal of mass, as well as volume. Not only do you need enough explosives to weld the nuclear material, but the explosion must be contained and directed in such a way that the material of the bomb itself does not rupture during the firing of the conventional explosives. Add to this the need for lead shielding and a U-238 neutron deflector to contain and direct radiation, and you are faced with a rather massive contraption for even the smallest sustainable chain reaction.
My educated guess is that with current technology, such a device is unlikely.
