Originally posted by standingfirminChrist:
Philip, not to question what yer saying, but if ya do some research, there was an 11 year old boy in Chicago I believe it was who did build one.
He got enough uranium needed by collecting old smoke detectors from dumps. Little known fact that there is a trace amount of uranium in smoke detectors.
As to our skills at what we know of incendiary devices, I cannot say how much one knows over the other. I can honestly tell you that at 14 years of age I made a bomb that I was told was capable of destroying half of a town that had 10,000 people in it. That incident is on police record and sticks with me. I was even investigated years later when the bomb was set off at the Atlanta Olympics. I was on the east coast at the time, but in Virginia and had been nowhere south of Greensboro, NC for several years.
It was not so much the bomb as to where it was placed. Near gas lines.
As to rights, no one deserves their rights to be violated. Now, the question would be: If one was planning to do an act of terrorism by making an incendiary device or other means, would it be considered violation of rights to obtain a search warrant for the safety of American Citizens? I would have to answer yes.
Sorry, but there is no uranium used in smoke detectors. There is a very, very tiny alpha emitter "Americium I believe". Uranium is a beta and gamma emitter, it would not work in a smoke detector. It isn't even a physical hazard unless swallowed. If a boy had enough enriched uranium to do ten percent of a small tactical nuke, he would be dead before he put the bomb together.
I'm sure this kid knew how to build an explosive lens to provide the pressure. I'm sure he knew how to make a neutron generator to initiate the process.
Can't happen standingfirminChrist, that's the stuff of teen-aged movies.
10,000 people huh? Maybe if you set the town on fire. But, not an explosive bomb. Twenty-thousand pounds of TNT won't do that unless the ten-thousand are in a football stadium.
Gas lines can hardly be lit. First you would have to have enough high-explosives to CUT into the line. Would take a LOT and probably shaped charges (which the ones that work are classified). High explosives will NOT set off gas. Its detonation rate is far too fast. Finally, most lines cannot be set off by much of anything due to the high-pressure and very thin line between critical mix of gas and oxygen. The high pressure snuffs out the fire. So, gasoline would be snuffed out by the high-explosive. This would take a very complex bomb even if you knew some military tricks for demolition. Besides, the chemicals for THIS are not available at Wal-Mart or Radio Shack.
Let me prove my point. What kind of bomb would you cut through a high-pressure gas line (not set it on fire, just cut it open first.)? (You have to break it to let the gas out.
Obviously, the pipe bomb at the Olympics was not very destructive although several were hit. It could have been MUCH worse. That's the reason it was obviously an amateur. Someone NOT on the terrorist radar screen. Pipe bombs don't count for much except loud bangs and a few pieces of flying lead.
Back to the atomic bomb. Where in the world would you hear this story?
By the way, I have designed smoke detectors for the military using alpha sources. I can confirm that it would NEVER, EVER be a source for a nuclear weapon.
Besides, there are still secrets--a high-school kid would never figure them out. Even the actual critical size of Uranium 235 is still classified. Americium won't go critical spitting out alpha particles. It takes a neutron emitter to go critical.
So much for THAT theory.
