Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Can Terrorists Build a Nuclear Bomb?

Posted by Zonk on from the the-lack-of-shrill-is-appreciated dept.

kjh1 writes "Popular Science is just chock full of good articles this month. One in-depth article addresses the question many are afraid to acknowledge is a possibility - can terrorists acquire the raw materials and then deliver a nuclear bomb? A good read that explains the difficulty in doing all of the above, while pointing out calmly that it is still possible." From the article: "Most experts with whom I spoke said that a nuclear terror attack is plausible but not inevitable, and that there's no way to precisely gauge the odds. 'I don't think the public ought to lose a lot of sleep over the issue,' says nuclear physicist Tom Cochran of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "

2 of 737 comments (clear)

  1. Re:The curve of binding energy by Feminist-Mom · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yeah, this book is mostly about Ted Talyor who used to build really small bombs for the US government and then quit. He was really into these issues years ago and no one listened to him, although McPhee had the insight to write a book about him. His point about the WTC is that a really small nuclear bomb could knock one of them over. I guess we found out that it was easier than having a nuclear bomb.

  2. Re:Exactly. by cat_jesus · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is one of the reasons I was furius when incurious, lying through his teeth George made his assertion that Iraq could make a "nucular" bomb in 6 months if they were able to obtain fissionable material. No shit? Any modern country could. Hell, I could. The hard part is refininng the fissionable material, not making the bomb.

    But, the dumb ass congresscritters and the majority of the US bought it and our so called liberal media legitimized it by not pointing out such fallacies.