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Originally posted by fmcanarney
What are some of the ten ways to initiate hydrogen reaction other than atomically?
Red mercury is a substance of debatable existence purportedly used in the creation of nuclear bombs, as well as a variety of unrelated weapons systems. Samples obtained from arrested would-be terrorists invariably consisted of nothing more than various red dyes or powders of little value, which some suspect was being sold as part of a campaign intended to flush out potential nuclear smugglers.
Ballotechnics are a controversial topic in arms control, where it is claimed they may have a high enough energy density to be useful as a replacement for the fission-based "primary" in a fusion bomb. If this were to be true, the lack of fissile material could make attempts to stop nuclear proliferation almost impossible, as existing methods are based largely on control of the material and the enrichment process that extracts it.
In the most popular indirect heating scheme, the spherical fuel capsule is mounted inside a cylinder that is about the size of a large paper clip. This cylinder is called a hohlraum, and it is usually made of some heavy element such as lead. Energy beams are shined through holes at the end of the hohlraum, vaporizing its inside surface and releasing a burst of x-rays. These x-rays bounce around inside the hohlraum, heating the fuel capsule much like heat from an oven bakes bread. Indirect heating achieves a highly uniform compression and heating of fusion fuel without the precise positioning of incoming energy beams required for direct heating.
Another find was a bottle of Red Mercury. Now this was a big deal for me. In order for a nuclear bomb to created fusion, you need fission, which is why nuclear missles are so complex. Back in the peak of the Cold War, the USSR came out with a story that stated they developed a chemical that could create fusion WITHOUT fission, thus creating the capabilites for the possibility of a small, cheap nuclear mega-ton bomb. It was called Red Mercury. Most people say it was just some urban legend that was whipped up by the Soviets to sell some crap on the black market for $200K-$300K per ounce (which they did). No tests have ever proved that this substance actually worked. It was produced on the USSR and Eat Germany, from what I know. It just goes to show what extent Iraq was taking to create something for mass destruction.