Stimulated Gamma Decay Weapons

ExRex writes "New Scientist is reporting on a USDOD project to produce super explosives. 'An exotic kind of nuclear explosive being developed by the US Department of Defense could blur the critical distinction between conventional and nuclear weapons. The work has also raised fears that weapons based on this technology could trigger the next arms race.'"

Comments

HardOCP had it at 9AM this morning

[zapp]

This has been happening more and more lately.. seems like half the stories on HardOCP show up on slashdot just a few hours later.

I wonder if a few readers discovered the [H]ardOCP slashbox and decided to just submit everything they saw :p

Arms race? What arms race?

[mkro]

The work has also raised fears that weapons based on this technology could trigger the next arms race.

Riight... Like the U.S. would let anyone else even participate in a race. Any country going in that direction will first be nudged lightly with reminders of economic sanctions, and if that doesn't stop them, nudged lightly with a sledgehammer.

The race is over, the U.S. won, but they seem to go on racing on their own. (No poetry intended)

Re:Oh shit.

[saskwach]

It's not that W told them to do it, it's that there's a war-mongering maniac (toned up for slashdot) in office and a new toy's just been discovered. Anyone I personally would have voted for would make sure that either A: this disappears or B: nobody ever uses it -- because arms races lead to arms surplusses and that is the stuff that gets sold to terrorists. But then again, if someone I had voted for were in office, the defense budget would have gotten slashed in favor of better education/health care.

Re: No US empire

[Black Parrot]

> Huh? The US has not engaged in imperialism since before WW2, and it fights against evil.

Don't bogart that pipe, my friend.

Re:Oh shit.

[Nogami_Saeko]

Well, war-mongering moron I think. Hopefully the american voters can get rid of this twit the next time an election rolls around. For all of Clinton's inability to keep it in his pants, he was a helluva good president.

Regardless, anyone who THINKS that a nuclear/radiation-based weapon won't bring down the wrath of the entire world upon the country that uses it is sadly deluded.

All it will take is some pictures/video of children/civillians dead/radiation burned to cause a uproar of impeachment level. People just won't stand for that.

N.

Good Bad

[panxerox]

How can this be a bad thing? It would be us that has it? (yes I'm US centric). Any weapon that can help US is a good thing. Any weapon that can help avoid US casualtys is a good thing. Would you rather our enemys were the only ones that had these? Yah I can see Al Quida not using these bombs. Yah I can see iran, northkorea (insert crazy country name here) not using them if they had them. Aint no fun being a geek in a trench with sombody throwing subkiloton handgrenades at you.

US scientists are assholes

[prime2003]

They should use that development to produce electrical power instead of smashing things and polluting the whole planet.

Re:Have you been on sabbatical since '89?

[Master of Transhuman]

The "Right Thing"?

You are an utter idiot. Or a Zionist.

I don't even have to say any more.