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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.'"
who cares? we are all just a bunch of idiots who pretend we are better than the rest of the animal kingdom because we can blow each other up. I am embarrased to be human when I read things like this.
I think it's fascinating. Only stupid people think it's scary.
-Libertarian secular transhumanist
This interesting technology could potentially lead to some better new-age energy sources. I'm not sure why we always focus on warfare, when there are other ways to use the explosive power of new military technology.
Simple reason, money, the DOD has it and which do you think they are going to develop? A new power source to make all our lives better, or a new way to blow shit up? Unless they are looking for a new power source for a sub/tank/flying death machine, they are going to try and find a way to make things go boom. Now, it could be argued that we could divert a chunk of the money going into the DOD to something a bit more peaceful (like researching a new power source) but that just doesn't sell with the people in power. Either we get one group pumping money into the DOD and ignoring research, or we get the other group pulling money out of the DOD and giving it to the poor, while ignoring research. Either way science for the betterment of everyone loses.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
Laziness is the father.
That's also the reason I don't like all that WMD talk because chemical and biological weapons are nowhere near the destructive power of nuclear weapons and treating them as the same thing is quite dangerous and utterly idiotic from a danger-analysis point of view which is why you bombed the hell out of Saddam and try sweet-talking (or what W takes for it)
A biological weapon could kill everyone on the planet. Chemical nerve agents dropped from a plane could kill everyone in a city. The U.S. doesn't have chemical or biological weapons, so the policy is to respond to any WMD attack with our nuclear weapons.
Sometimes when people say "The U.S. doesn't have any chemical or biological weapons", there's a guy who will snort and say "Oh yeah, they do, they just want you to THINK they don't!"
Well:
1) That would be a pretty massive freaking conspiracy, don't you think?
2) We don't need chemical/biological weapons BECAUSE we have nukes. If we were in a real fight where we needed to use every weapon available, its not like we're going to be in trench warfare taking out troops with cholorine gas, we're going to blow up military and economic resources with nuclear weapons launched from thousands or miles away.
Thats really the reason everyone agreed to ban those weapons in the 60s, because they figured out it wasn't worth the money.
Yeah, let north korea or pakistan develop it. Just because we don't pursue something doesn't mean it wont get created. You think the world revolves around the US?
BTW what would your buddy al whore have done after 911? He would of sent a focus group to afghanistan to help Osama find his inner child.
love is just extroverted narcissism
" 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."
I shared your PoV before 9-11.