I’m assuming the science of making one is out there. Why then countries like Iran who so want to develop atomic weapons haven’t been able to do so?
In: Physics
Uranium ore is rare. There are trace amounts that exist in the earths crust, most of it is found in only 5 countries in the world.
There are two types of Uranium. U-235 & U-238. U-238 is the most common, less than 1% is U-235.
Uranium has to be converted to a gas in order to enrich it. Uranium has to be enriched in order to use it for nuclear purposes. Enrichment generally occurs in gas centrifuges. After the Uranium is converted to gas, it’s put in these centrifuges. The centrifuges separate the U-235 from the U-238.
The longer you spin the gas in the centrifuge, the more enriched it becomes.
A nuclear reactor uses 5% enriched Uranium. A nuclear weapon uses 90+% enriched uranium.
So, to begin with, the country wanting to build the weapon has to…
1. Get the uranium to begin with.
2. Obtain the capability to enrich it.
3. Enrich it.
This is all before even building the bomb itself.
These centrifuges are not small. They’d need an area about the size of a football field to do this. It’s difficult to build something that large while constantly being watched.
I have little doubt that these countries have the uranium to accomplish building one *somewhere*.
We know for a fact that they already have uranium enriched to 60%. It would take mere weeks to enrich that above 90%. Its believed that they already have enough to make 10.
Essentially, nothing is really stopping them except for the superpower countries watching them and making treaties, most of which they’ve broken.
I’d be pretty surprised if they *don’t* already have some.
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