… The climbers scampered down the mountain after stashing the C.I.A. gear on a ledge of ice, abandoning a nuclear device that contained nearly a third of the total amount of plutonium used in the Nagasaki bomb. …
… Scientists say the generator will not explode on its own — for one, there’s no trigger, unlike in a nuclear weapon. But they worry about a sinister scenario in which the plutonium core is found and used for a dirty bomb.
a third of the total amount of plutonium used in the Nagasaki bomb
That’s a bit more than 1 kg, or something like 4 pounds.
50 pounds is the weight of the entire device. Most of what is probably shielding. Plutonium is more toxic than lead, but for comparison, airplanes emit around 400 tons of lead every ear in the US, and it’s not much of a problem.
Are you absolutely sure? It doesn’t sound tiny.
That’s a bit more than 1 kg, or something like 4 pounds.
50 pounds is the weight of the entire device. Most of what is probably shielding. Plutonium is more toxic than lead, but for comparison, airplanes emit around 400 tons of lead every ear in the US, and it’s not much of a problem.
“airplanes emit around 400 tons of lead every ear in the US, and it’s not much of a problem.”
uhhhh have u seen the us recently?
Actually, no, and I don’t think I would even be allowed to if I tried.
But that is still 400000 times more than this device.