How does the metal ball used in nuclear weapons work, and how can it be handled without constant fear of exploding?

Question

How does the metal ball used in nuclear weapons work, and how can it be handled without constant fear of exploding?

In: Technology

Answer 1

The metal ball contains an amount of nuclear material that will only explode if it’s compressed into a volume smaller than the ball. It’s still Plutonium and super toxic, so you can’t touch or lick the ball, but you can’t make it go off. To make it go off you have to use very specific arrangements of explosives to uniformly compress it into a smaller volume, where it can do its nuclear thing. You can’t compress it that much with your hand, it’s a metal sphere.