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Originally posted by winofiend
reply to post by Adaluncatif
Destroy the entire earth to make sure no one usurps you.
I don't think that's right, but if it's encased in cobalt, then why not.
Originally posted by Adaluncatif
I think it is possible that the object put into orbit by the North Koreans is not a nuclear EMP but a nuclear doomsday device. A nuclear bomb encased in a jacket of cobalt would produce a radioactive isotope of cobalt by the intense neutron flux during detonation. This fallout would last thousands of years. If this was detonated high in the atmosphere, the entire surface of planet Earth would become uninhabitable. This one bomb is the ultimate deterrent against regime change.
contamination weapons
"Doomsday Bomb", salted bombs, enhanced fallout
The easiest Doomsday Machine to construct is the cobalt bomb cluster. Each cobalt bomb is an ordinary atomic bomb encased in a jacket of cobalt. When a cobalt bomb explodes, it spreads a huge amount of radiation. If enough of these bombs were exploded, life on Earth would perish.
The idea of the cobalt bomb originated with Leo Szilard who publicized it in February 1950, not as a serious proposal for a weapon, but to point out that it would soon be possible in principle to build a single weapon that would kill everyone on earth. To design such a weapon a radioactive isotope is needed that can be dispersed world wide before it decays. The design would be reminiscent of a fission-fusion-fission weapon. A thick cobalt metal blanket is used to capture the fusion neutrons to maximize the fallout hazard. Instead of generating additional explosive force from fast fission U-238 the cobalt is transmuted into Co-60 which produces energetic and penetrating gamma rays.
physics.info...