By DemocracyRules
The CIA is about to publicly disclose what they know about the Syrian site that Israel bombed last September.
This disclosure is expected to identify this site as a plutonium reactor which Syria was building with the help of North Korea.
This upcoming meeting in the US is causing massive maneuvering in the Middle East. Syria has undertaken a series of actions which tend to distract from this bombshell meeting. If in fact Syria and North Korea were preparing to make plutonium, that would have huge implications. Assad of Syria and Mr. Il of North Korea have been very bad boys.
Plutonium is only used to make nuclear bombs, not electricity. If you get caught with it, it's very clear what your intentions are. A piece of plutonium the size of a softball is all you need for a bomb.
What is Plutonium?
Plutonium is similar to uranium, in that it is a very heavy element, heavier than lead. Each plutonium atom is loaded with neutrons, which are neutral particles in the core of the atom. The core is like a bunch of billiard balls clumped together. They tend to clump, or stick together because of the 'strong force'. Humans don't normally see or experience the strong force, because it's inside atoms. With other basic forces like electricity and magnetism, we can actually see or feel their effects.
Protons are also clinging to the atom's core, and they are positively charged. Electrons are much smaller than protons and neutrons, and they are negatively charged. The electrons circle the core of the atom because they are 'in orbit' around the protons. The positive-negative attraction that maintains the 'orbit' is called the 'weak force'.
Neutrons can get knocked out of the core of plutonium atoms by various loose particles that are always zooming around in the spaces between atoms. If a particle hits the core of the plutonium atom, then the neutrons can just scatter, basically destroying that one atom. The scattering neutrons can hit other atoms nearby, and knock them apart. This is the chain reaction that causes a nuclear explosion. It's not like other explosions, nothing catches fire. It's not a chemical reaction, the atoms themselves are breaking apart.
Plutonium is so heavy and dense that each atom makes a big target, so the material is prone to 'go critical' and break apart. If the piece of plutonium is too big, there will be too many of the internal atom disintegrations happening too close to each other and it will blow up right then and there. The piece of plutonium for a bomb has to be just a bit too small to 'go critical' or blow up by itself.
Even just sitting there on a workbench, a piece of plutonium will be highly radioactive, because neutrons are constantly scattering around inside, and when the atoms break they send neutrons, protons and electrons zooming out. That's what radioactivity is, and it can damage human cells by breaking molecules apart.
How Hard Is it to Make it Into a Bomb?
Plutonium bombs were first designed and built in the Manhattan project. I think Canada made the plutonium. Some aspects of the Manhattan project are still secret.
The bomb is made by taking a highly refined piece of plutonium that's just a bit too small to go critical. Then engineers surround it with a complete 'jacket' of explosives. The explosive jacket is designed to blow inwards. When it's triggered, the explosives momentarily squeeze the plutonium inside. The plutonium atoms are suddenly squeezed closer together, and each one becomes a closer target for the constantly scattering neutrons. The collision rate goes way up, and the whole thing goes critical. Most of the plutonium atoms break apart in an instant, and energy from the strong force inside all these atoms is released.
Even a lightning bolt is just the 'weak force' in action, as electrons dislodge from their 'home atoms' and pass through the air. The strong force is much stronger than that. In an instant, most of the plutonium disappears as the atoms disintegrate, and the radioactive neurons, protons, and electrons stream out at the speed of light. Boom!
North Korea's Bomb
North Korea seems to have already built a plutonium bomb, but it didn't work. From what I can glean, the explosive jacket misfired, and the plutonium wasn't squeezed properly. The explosives blew the whole thing apart before the plutonium went critical. Bits of radioactive plutonium went into the atmosphere, and it was labeled a 'fizzle yield'.
So if North Korea has no working plutonium bomb, what's the problem? The problem is that Syria and North Korea are trying very hard to make it work. The renegade Pakistani nuclear physicist (Khan) sold many nuclear secrets. He helped North Korea, Iraq, Libya, and Iran a lot. He supplied complete bomb designs that he got from China. We know he made those bomb designs work, because Pakistan has nuclear weapons.
The Situation is Dangerous
The situation is dangerous because: (1) This proves North Korea is not disarming, instead they moved to Syria to try the plutonium bomb design again. (2) We now know that Syria and North Korea are in cahoots. (3) We already knew Iran and Syria are in cahoots, so now we have three nuclear co-conspirators. Iran has already been caught with nuclear bomb designs. (4) Iran is also intimately connected to Hizbulla in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine. They also collaborate with and Al Qaida from time to time. (5) If Iran or Syria gets their hands on a plutonium bomb, they could give it to a terrorist group to detonate in Israel. One simple plan is to load the bomb on a ship or boat and sail it into Tel Aviv harbor. A nuclear explosion there would kill roughly 100,000 Israelis. (6) This ship-based strategy could also be done in any harbor in the world. (7) Iran or Syria could disavow all knowledge and responsibility ("We don't know where they got that bomb"). This would make retaliation almost impossible.
Bush was right about the 'axis of evil' thing.
Pro Patria
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