(For parcel post shipment)? I’m wondering if one was securely packed, would it pose any danger to the people handling it? Of course, the trigger would not be included. What would it cost? (say, Boston to San Francisco)
No they would not.
Explosives are generally prohibited by the USPS:
http://pe.usps.com/text/qsg300/Q601.htm
Exceptions may be found here:
http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/601.htm#wp1064962
Radioactive materials are also prohibited in many cases (same link as above).
Do you mean unwittingly? Just how rigorously they test packages for explosives or radioactive materials is probably a matter of national security. As far as the device being dangerous to a mail carrier (assuming it didn’t blow up), man-portable devices such as the SADM are safe for their operators to carry.
Yes, but technically a nuclear bomb would be implosive, not explosive. The trigger contains explosives to jam the nuclear parts close enough to go critical, but the OP left the trigger out of the mailed package.
However, I doubt your average clerk would be all that technical about implosive/explosive – they would certainly find some reason to reject the package – they have books of regulations to search for a reason!
Just make up a fake invoice listing it as something else. I’m sure you’ll be fine.
I think you need to clarify whether you’re asking about regulations or practicalities. After all, they don’t accept illegal drugs, either…
The USPS won’t accept an individual package weighing more than 70 pounds. According to Cecil’s old column on suitcase nukes, it’s possible that you could get engineer the full device to weigh less than that — but I’m not sure if Cecil had numbers to back his “thirty kilos” assertion up, or if he was just spitballing. If not, you’d have to split the nuke up into multiple packages and reassemble them at the destination.
Kim Jong-Il, is that you?
Nah it’s just Randle.
A nuclear weapon needs both conventional explosives and a nuclear payload to be a bomb. Considering you cant ship either of those, your answer is no. If the device was free of this then its still a bomb and would be classified as such, even though its inert.
So, and in a more practical note, if you wanted to mail a decomissioned bomb (say WWII memorabilia) would they oppose to it on the grounds that it is still a bomb, no matter that it is inert? How could one ship one legally?
Fixed link: xkcd: Mail
Also, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen signs at the post office specifically prohibiting radioactive materials. I think.
You’d probably end up having to FedEx it, and the cost would be outrageous.