Weapons of Mass Destruction - Modern Marvels

The mission of the Terminator is to protect the human against from assaulting of the nuclear
weapon.Nuclear Bomb (Centrifuge Enrichment), JASER Gas Gun, Mobile Gamma System,
Chemical Unmanned Ground Reconnaissance,

Isotope Separation / Enriched Uranium.

In producing U-235 for the first atomic bomb, Manhattan Project scientists considered four physical processes for uranium enrichment: gaseous diffusion (effusion), electromagnetic separation, liquid thermal diffusion, and centrifugation.  During the project the first three were employed at Oak Ridge to produce enriched uranium for the bomb used at Hiroshima.  Centrifugation was abandoned because the technology and materials required to spin corrosive uranium hexafluoride with a rotator at high speeds were not practical for industrial, large-scale separations.  However, advances in technology and materials make centrifugation the preferred method of enrichment today.

Note that from the left side at the third cylinder, we can know how tall and wide the cylinder is
by comparing the technician.

The enriched process separated heavier from lighter uranium atoms. The lighter atom called
uranium 235 are more stable. Cascades of individual centrifuges constructed to produce LEU for reactors can be easily reconfigured to produce HEU for weapons.  It is also possible to recycle LEU through a cascade for additional enrichment without changing its configuration. Thus, any centrifuge enrichment facility has the potential to produce HEU for weapons, a major concern with respect to nuclear weapons proliferation.  Pakistan produced enriched uranium for its nuclear weapons using centrifuge technology acquired by the infamous metallurgist and Physicist, A. Q. Khan.  Concerns surrounding Iran’s uranium enrichment program center on its cascades of centrifuges at Natanz.  The Iranian government claims that it will produce only LEU for nuclear power but there is evidence that Iran is attempting to manufacture HEU for nuclear weapons.

Centrifuge Enrichment.

The centrifuge cylinder filled with uranium gas spinning at 90,000 rpm. Advancements in technology and materials since the 1960s have allowed centrifugation to become a robust industrial technology.  Today, lower energy consumption (5% of that required for gaseous diffusion), shorter separation times, and modular design, make it the preferred method for enriching uranium.

In centrifugation, gaseous UF6 is fed into a centrifuge unit consisting of a cylindrical rotor spinning at a high speed inside an evacuated casing. The centrifugal force in the rapidly spinning rotor causes a partial separation of the UF6, with the heavier U-238 molecules becoming slightly more concentrated around the outside walls, while the concentration of the lighter U-235 molecules increases around the middle of the tube.  The separation is facilitated by a relatively slow axial countercurrent flow in the rotor that moves the molecules enriched in U-235 to one end and the depleted molecules containing increased concentration of U-238 to the other.  The separation can be enhanced further by heating the lower end of the casing, creating convection currents that move the U-238 down and the U-235 up.

For more information : Nuclear Chemistry Uranium Enrichment

Isotopic Separation by Centrifugation.

Although it is possible to obtain significantly more enrichment from a single centrifuge than from a single gaseous diffusion stage, this process must be repeated in a series of connected centrifuges known as a cascade (Figure 7) in order to obtain the desired concentration of enriched uranium.  The slightly enriched stream is fed to the next higher stage, while the depleted stream is recycled back to the preceding stage.  Cascades containing several hundred or even thousands of units are the basic components of a centrifuge enrichment facility.

This forced heavier atoms to the outside of the cylinder, the lighter atom keeps inside of the

cylinder.

LLNL Conducts First Plutonium Shot Using the JASPER Gas Gun.

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) successfully executes the first plutonium shot using the Joint Actinide Shock Physics Experimental Research (JASPER) gas gun at NNSA's Nevada Test Site. LLNL scientists use the 100-foot, two-stage gas gun to fire a projectile at more than five kilometers per second at a plutonium target. The impact produces a high-pressure shock wave that passes through the plutonium in a fraction of a microsecond while diagnostic equipment measures the properties of the shocked plutonium. Shock physics experiments complement the ongoing subcritical experiment program at NTS as part of the NNSA’s stockpile stewardship program to maintain the safety and reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile in the absence of underground testing.

JASER Gas Gun.

Chemical Unmanned Ground Reconnaissance.

Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility.

A U.S Army facility used for dismantling chemical weapons.

This company makes the suicide bomb vest to simulate the scenario in the real battlefield.

Training Vest.

This plastic pipes simulate the explosives.

Detonator.

The nails simulate the blast.