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Pit (nuclear weapon), the Glossary

In nuclear weapon design, the pit is the core of an implosion nuclear weapon, consisting of fissile material and any neutron reflector or tamper bonded to it.^[1]

163 relations: Absorption cross section, Allotropes of plutonium, Allotropy, Alpha decay, Alpha particle, Aluminium, Americium-241, Ammonium perchlorate, Apricot, B Reactor, B28 nuclear bomb, B43 nuclear bomb, B53 nuclear bomb, B57 nuclear bomb, B61 nuclear bomb, B83 nuclear bomb, Berylliosis, Beryllium, Beryllium oxide, Beta decay, Boosted fission weapon, Boron, Bowling ball, Brazing, Cadmium, Carbon tetrachloride, Casting, Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement Facility, Composite material, Control rod, Corrosion, Cross-link, Cutting fluid, Decay heat, Deuterium, Drupe, Edward Teller, Electron-beam welding, Electronvolt, Electroplating, Enduring Stockpile, Energetic material, Enriched uranium, Fat Man, Federation of American Scientists, Fissile material, Fizzle (nuclear explosion), Frenkel defect, Gallium, Gamma ray, ... Expand index (113 more) »
Nuclear weapon design
Nuclear weapon implosion
Plutonium

Absorption cross section

In physics, absorption cross section is a measure for the probability of an absorption process.

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Allotropes of plutonium

Plutonium occurs in a variety of allotropes, even at ambient pressure. Pit (nuclear weapon) and allotropes of plutonium are plutonium.

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Allotropy

Allotropy or allotropism is the property of some chemical elements to exist in two or more different forms, in the same physical state, known as allotropes of the elements.

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Alpha decay or α-decay is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle (helium nucleus) and thereby transforms or "decays" into a different atomic nucleus, with a mass number that is reduced by four and an atomic number that is reduced by two.

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Alpha particle

Alpha particles, also called alpha rays or alpha radiation, consist of two protons and two neutrons bound together into a particle identical to a helium-4 nucleus.

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Aluminium

Aluminium (Aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has symbol Al and atomic number 13.

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Americium-241

Americium-241 (Am-241) is an isotope of americium.

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Ammonium perchlorate

Ammonium perchlorate ("AP") is an inorganic compound with the formula. It is a colorless or white solid that is soluble in water. It is a powerful oxidizer. Combined with a fuel, it can be used as a rocket propellant called ammonium perchlorate composite propellant. Its instability has involved it in a number of accidents, such as the PEPCON disaster.

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Apricot

An apricot is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus Prunus.

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B Reactor

The B Reactor at the Hanford Site, near Richland, Washington, was the first large-scale nuclear reactor ever built.

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B28 nuclear bomb

The B28, originally Mark 28, was a thermonuclear bomb carried by U.S. tactical fighter bombers, attack aircraft and bomber aircraft.

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B43 nuclear bomb

The B43 was a United States air-dropped variable yield thermonuclear weapon used by a wide variety of fighter bomber and bomber aircraft.

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B53 nuclear bomb

The Mk/B53 was a high-yield bunker buster thermonuclear weapon developed by the United States during the Cold War.

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B57 nuclear bomb

The B57 nuclear bomb was a tactical nuclear weapon developed by the United States during the Cold War.

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B61 nuclear bomb

The B61 nuclear bomb is the primary thermonuclear gravity bomb in the United States Enduring Stockpile following the end of the Cold War.

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B83 nuclear bomb

The B83 is a variable-yield thermonuclear gravity bomb developed by the United States in the late 1970s that entered service in 1983.

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Berylliosis

Berylliosis, or chronic beryllium disease (CBD), is a chronic allergic-type lung response and chronic lung disease caused by exposure to beryllium and its compounds, a form of beryllium poisoning.

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Beryllium

Beryllium is a chemical element; it has symbol Be and atomic number 4.

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Beryllium oxide

Beryllium oxide (BeO), also known as beryllia, is an inorganic compound with the formula BeO.

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Beta decay

In nuclear physics, beta decay (β-decay) is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits a beta particle (fast energetic electron or positron), transforming into an isobar of that nuclide.

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Boosted fission weapon

A boosted fission weapon usually refers to a type of nuclear bomb that uses a small amount of fusion fuel to increase the rate, and thus yield, of a fission reaction. Pit (nuclear weapon) and boosted fission weapon are nuclear weapon design.

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Boron

Boron is a chemical element; it has symbol B and atomic number 5.

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Bowling ball

A bowling ball is a hard spherical ball used to knock down bowling pins in the sport of bowling.

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Brazing

Brazing is a metal-joining process in which two or more metal items are joined by melting and flowing a filler metal into the joint, with the filler metal having a lower melting point than the adjoining metal.

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Cadmium

Cadmium is a chemical element; it has symbol Cd and atomic number 48.

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Carbon tetrachloride

Carbon tetrachloride, also known by many other names (such as carbon tet for short and tetrachloromethane, also recognised by the IUPAC) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula CCl4.

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Casting

Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify.

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The Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement Facility, usually referred to as the CMRR, is a facility under construction at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico which is part of the United States' nuclear stockpile stewardship program.

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Composite material

A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials.

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Control rod

Control rods are used in nuclear reactors to control the rate of fission of the nuclear fuel – uranium or plutonium.

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Corrosion

Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide.

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Cross-link

emanate, and formed by reactions involving sites or groups on existingmacromolecules or by interactions between existing macromolecules.

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Cutting fluid

Cutting fluid is a type of coolant and lubricant designed specifically for metalworking processes, such as machining and stamping.

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Decay heat

Decay heat is the heat released as a result of radioactive decay.

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Deuterium

Deuterium (hydrogen-2, symbol H or D, also known as heavy hydrogen) is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen (the other is protium, or hydrogen-1).

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Drupe

In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the pip (UK), pit (US), stone, or pyrena) of hardened endocarp with a seed (kernel) inside.

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Edward Teller

Edward Teller (Teller Ede; January 15, 1908 – September 9, 2003) was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist and chemical engineer who is known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb" and one of the creators of the Teller–Ulam design.

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Electron-beam welding

Electron-beam welding (EBW) is a fusion welding process in which a beam of high-velocity electrons is applied to two materials to be joined.

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Electronvolt

In physics, an electronvolt (symbol eV), also written electron-volt and electron volt, is the measure of an amount of kinetic energy gained by a single electron accelerating through an electric potential difference of one volt in vacuum.

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Electroplating

Electroplating, also known as electrochemical deposition or electrodeposition, is a process for producing a metal coating on a solid substrate through the reduction of cations of that metal by means of a direct electric current.

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Enduring Stockpile

The Enduring Stockpile is the United States' arsenal of nuclear weapons following the end of the Cold War.

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Energetic material

Energetic materials are a class of material with high amount of stored chemical energy that can be released.

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Enriched uranium

Enriched uranium is a type of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 (written 235U) has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Pit (nuclear weapon) and Enriched uranium are nuclear weapon design.

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Fat Man

"Fat Man" (also known as Mark III) was the codename for the type of nuclear weapon the United States detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki on 9 August 1945.

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Federation of American Scientists

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is an American nonprofit global policy think tank with the stated intent of using science and scientific analysis to attempt to make the world more secure.

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Fissile material

In nuclear engineering, fissile material is material that can undergo nuclear fission when struck by a neutron of low energy. Pit (nuclear weapon) and fissile material are nuclear weapon design.

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Fizzle (nuclear explosion)

A fizzle occurs when the detonation of a device for creating a nuclear explosion (such as a nuclear weapon) grossly fails to meet its expected yield. Pit (nuclear weapon) and fizzle (nuclear explosion) are nuclear weapons.

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Frenkel defect

In crystallography, a Frenkel defect is a type of point defect in crystalline solids, named after its discoverer Yakov Frenkel.

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Gallium

Gallium is a chemical element; it has the symbol Ga and atomic number 31.

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Gamma ray

A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei.

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Gamma spectroscopy

Gamma-ray spectroscopy is the qualitative study of the energy spectra of gamma-ray sources, such as in the nuclear industry, geochemical investigation, and astrophysics.

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Gas tungsten arc welding

Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW, also known as tungsten inert gas welding or TIG, and heliarc welding when helium is used) is an arc welding process that uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode to produce the weld.

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Germanium

Germanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ge and atomic number 32.

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Gold

Gold is a chemical element; it has symbol Au (from the Latin word aurum) and atomic number 79.

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Gold leaf

A gold nugget of 5 mm (0.2 in) in diameter (bottom) can be expanded through hammering into a gold foil of about 0.5 m2 (5.4 sq ft). Toi gold mine museum, Japan. Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 μm thick) by a process known as goldbeating, for use in gilding.

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Hans Bethe

Hans Albrecht Bethe (July 2, 1906 – March 6, 2005) was a German-American theoretical physicist who made major contributions to nuclear physics, astrophysics, quantum electrodynamics, and solid-state physics, and who won the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis.

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Helium

Helium (from lit) is a chemical element; it has symbol He and atomic number 2.

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HMX

HMX, also called octogen, is a powerful and relatively insensitive nitroamine high explosive chemically related to RDX.

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Hot pressing

Hot pressing is a high-pressure, low-strain-rate powder metallurgy process for forming of a powder or powder compact at a temperature high enough to induce sintering and creep processes.

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Hydrogen embrittlement

Hydrogen embrittlement (HE), also known as hydrogen-assisted cracking or hydrogen-induced cracking (HIC), is a reduction in the ductility of a metal due to absorbed hydrogen.

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Insensitive munition

Insensitive munitions are munitions that are designed to withstand stimuli representative of severe but credible accidents.

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Institute for Defense Analyses

The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) is an American non-profit corporation that administers three federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) – the Systems and Analyses Center (SAC), the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI), and the Center for Communications and Computing (C&C) – to assist the United States government in addressing national security issues, particularly those requiring scientific and technical expertise.

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Intercontinental ballistic missile

An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than, primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads).

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Isotopes of neptunium

Neptunium (93Np) is usually considered an artificial element, although trace quantities are found in nature, so a standard atomic weight cannot be given.

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Lathe

A lathe is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, threading and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece to create an object with symmetry about that axis.

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Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federally funded research and development center in Livermore, California, United States.

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Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents

These are lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents.

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Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the American southwest.

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Los Alamos Science

Los Alamos Science was the Los Alamos National Laboratory's flagship publication in the years 1980 to 2005.

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Machining

Machining is a manufacturing process where a desired shape or part is created using the controlled removal of material, most often metal, from a larger piece of raw material by cutting.

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Mark 18 nuclear bomb

The Mark 18 nuclear bomb, also known as the SOB or Super Oralloy Bomb, was an American nuclear bomb design which was the highest yield fission bomb produced by the US.

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Mark 4 nuclear bomb

The Mark 4 nuclear bomb was an American implosion-type nuclear bomb based on the earlier Mark 3 Fat Man design, used in the Trinity test and the bombing of Nagasaki.

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Mark 5 nuclear bomb

The Mark 5 nuclear bomb and W5 nuclear warhead were a common core American nuclear weapon design, designed in the early 1950s and which saw service from 1952 to 1963.

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Mark 6 nuclear bomb

The Mark 6 nuclear bomb was an American nuclear bomb based on the earlier Mark 4 nuclear bomb and its predecessor, the Mark 3 Fat Man nuclear bomb design.

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Mark 7 nuclear bomb

Mark 7 "Thor" (or Mk-7') was the First tactical fission bomb adopted by US armed forces.

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Mayak

The Mayak Production Association (Производственное объединение «Маяк», Proizvodstvennoye ob′yedineniye "Mayak", from Маяк 'lighthouse') is one of the largest nuclear facilities in the Russian Federation, housing a reprocessing plant.

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Modulated neutron initiator

A modulated neutron initiator is a neutron source capable of producing a burst of neutrons on activation. Pit (nuclear weapon) and modulated neutron initiator are nuclear weapon design.

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National Nuclear Security Administration

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is a United States federal agency responsible for safeguarding national security through the military application of nuclear science.

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Neutron reflector

A neutron reflector is any material that reflects neutrons. Pit (nuclear weapon) and neutron reflector are nuclear weapon design.

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Neutron source

A neutron source is any device that emits neutrons, irrespective of the mechanism used to produce the neutrons.

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Nickel

Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28.

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Nickel tetracarbonyl

Nickel carbonyl (IUPAC name: tetracarbonylnickel) is a nickel(0) organometallic compound with the formula Ni(CO)4.

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Nitroglycerin

Nitroglycerin (NG) (alternative spelling of nitroglycerine), also known as trinitroglycerol (TNG), nitro, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane, is a dense, colorless or pale yellow, oily, explosive liquid most commonly produced by nitrating glycerol with white fuming nitric acid under conditions appropriate to the formation of the nitric acid ester.

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Nuclear chain reaction

In nuclear physics, a nuclear chain reaction occurs when one single nuclear reaction causes an average of one or more subsequent nuclear reactions, thus leading to the possibility of a self-propagating series or "positive feedback loop" of these reactions.

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Nuclear reactor

A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions.

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Nuclear weapon design

Nuclear weapon designs are physical, chemical, and engineering arrangements that cause the physics package of a nuclear weapon to detonate. Pit (nuclear weapon) and nuclear weapon design are nuclear weapons.

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Operation Sandstone

Operation Sandstone was a series of nuclear weapon tests in 1948.

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Operation Teapot

Operation Teapot was a series of 14 nuclear test explosions conducted at the Nevada Test Site in the first half of 1955.

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Orange Herald

Orange Herald was a British nuclear weapon, tested on 31 May 1957.

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Oxygen-17

Oxygen-17 (17O) is a low-abundance, natural, stable isotope of oxygen (0.0373% in seawater; approximately twice as abundant as deuterium).

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Pantex

Pantex is the primary United States nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility that aims to maintain the safety, security and reliability of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.

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Peach

The peach (Prunus persica) is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China.

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Permissive action link

A permissive action link (PAL) is an access control security device for nuclear weapons. Pit (nuclear weapon) and permissive action link are nuclear weapons.

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Pitting corrosion

Pitting corrosion, or pitting, is a form of extremely localized corrosion that leads to the random creation of small holes in metal.

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Plutonium

Plutonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94.

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Plutonium hydride

Plutonium hydride is a non-stoichiometric chemical compound with the formula PuH.

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Plutonium(IV) oxide

Plutonium(IV) oxide, or plutonia, is a chemical compound with the formula PuO2.

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Plutonium-239

Plutonium-239 (239Pu or Pu-239) is an isotope of plutonium.

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Plutonium-240

Plutonium-240 (or Pu-240) is an isotope of plutonium formed when plutonium-239 captures a neutron.

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Plutonium-241

Plutonium-241 (241Pu or Pu-241) is an isotope of plutonium formed when plutonium-240 captures a neutron.

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Plutonium–gallium alloy

Plutonium–gallium alloy (Pu–Ga) is an alloy of plutonium and gallium, used in nuclear weapon pits, the component of a nuclear weapon where the fission chain reaction is started. Pit (nuclear weapon) and Plutonium–gallium alloy are nuclear weapons.

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Project 56 (nuclear test)

Operation Project 56 was a series of 4 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1955–1956 at the Nevada Test Site.

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Pyrophoricity

A substance is pyrophoric (from πυροφόρος, pyrophoros, 'fire-bearing') if it ignites spontaneously in air at or below (for gases) or within 5 minutes after coming into contact with air (for liquids and solids).

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Radiolysis

Radiolysis is the dissociation of molecules by ionizing radiation.

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Reliable Replacement Warhead

The Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) was a proposed new American nuclear warhead design and bomb family that was intended to be simple, reliable and to provide a long-lasting, low-maintenance future nuclear force for the United States.

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Robert F. Christy

Robert Frederick Christy (May 14, 1916 – October 3, 2012) was a Canadian-American theoretical physicist and later astrophysicist who was one of the last surviving people to have worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II.

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Rocky Flats Plant

The Rocky Flats Plant was a U.S. manufacturing complex that produced nuclear weapons parts in the western United States, near Denver, Colorado.

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RUR-5 ASROC

The RUR-5 ASROC (for "Anti-Submarine Rocket") is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system.

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Silver

Silver is a chemical element; it has symbol Ag (derived from Proto-Indo-European ''*h₂erǵ'')) and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. The metal is found in the Earth's crust in the pure, free elemental form ("native silver"), as an alloy with gold and other metals, and in minerals such as argentite and chlorargyrite.

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Smokeless powder

Finnish smokeless powder Smokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to black powder.

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Stainless steel

Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), and rustless steel, is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion.

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Strong link/weak link

A strong link/weak link and exclusion zone nuclear detonation mechanism is a type of safety mechanism employed in the arming and firing mechanisms of modern nuclear weapons.

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Submarine

A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater.

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Submarine-launched ballistic missile

A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines.

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Swarf

Swarf, also known as chips or by other process-specific names (such as turnings, filings, or shavings), are pieces of metal, wood, or plastic that are the debris or waste resulting from machining, woodworking, or similar subtractive (material-removing) manufacturing processes.

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Tamper (nuclear weapon)

A tamper is an optional layer of dense material surrounding the fissile material. Pit (nuclear weapon) and tamper (nuclear weapon) are nuclear weapon design.

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Tennis ball

A tennis ball is a ball designed for the sport of tennis.

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Trichloroethylene

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a halocarbon with the formula C2HCl3, commonly used as an industrial degreasing solvent.

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Trident (missile)

The Trident missile is a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) equipped with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV).

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Trinity (nuclear test)

Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, conducted by the United States Army at 5:29 a.m. MWT (11:29:21 GMT) on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project.

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Tritium

Tritium or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with half-life ~12.3 years.

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Turning

Turning is a machining process in which a cutting tool, typically a non-rotary tool bit, describes a helix toolpath by moving more or less linearly while the workpiece rotates.

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UGM-27 Polaris

The UGM-27 Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fueled nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

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United States Department of Energy

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear weapons program, nuclear reactor production for the United States Navy, energy-related research, and energy conservation.

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Uranium-233

Uranium-233 (233U or U-233) is a fissile isotope of uranium that is bred from thorium-232 as part of the thorium fuel cycle.

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Uranium-235

Uranium-235 (235U or U-235) is an isotope of uranium making up about 0.72% of natural uranium.

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Valence (chemistry)

In chemistry, the valence (US spelling) or valency (British spelling) of an atom is a measure of its combining capacity with other atoms when it forms chemical compounds or molecules.

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Vanadium

Vanadium is a chemical element; it has symbol V and atomic number 23.

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Variable yield

Variable yield, or dial-a-yield, is an option available on most modern nuclear weapons. Pit (nuclear weapon) and Variable yield are nuclear weapons.

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Violet Club

Violet Club was a nuclear weapon deployed by the United Kingdom during the Cold War; the name was chosen in adherence to the Rainbow code system.

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W25 (nuclear warhead)

The W25 was a small nuclear warhead that was developed by the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory for air-defense use.

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W38 (nuclear warhead)

The W38 was an American thermonuclear warhead used in the early to mid-1960s as a warhead for Atlas E and F, and LGM-25 Titan I ICBMs.

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W45 (nuclear warhead)

The W45 was a multipurpose American nuclear warhead developed in the early 1960s, first built in 1962 and fielded in some applications until 1988.

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W47

The W47 was an American thermonuclear warhead used on the Polaris A-1 sub-launched ballistic missile system.

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W48

The W48 was an American nuclear artillery shell, capable of being fired from any standard howitzer.

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W50 (nuclear warhead)

The W50 (also known as the Mark 50) was an American thermonuclear warhead deployed on the MGM-31 Pershing theater ballistic missile.

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W54

The W54 (also known as the Mark 54 or B54) was a tactical nuclear warhead developed by the United States in the late 1950s.

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W55 (nuclear warhead)

The W55 was a tactical nuclear weapon that was in service with the US Navy from 1964 to 1990, and was carried by the UUM-44 SUBROC submarine-launched missile as a nuclear depth bomb.

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W56

The W56 (originally called the Mark 56) was an American thermonuclear warhead produced starting in 1963 which saw service until 1993, on the Minuteman I and II ICBMs.

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W58

The W58 was an American thermonuclear warhead used on the Polaris A-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile.

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W59

The W59 was an American thermonuclear warhead used on some Minuteman I ICBM missiles from 1962 to 1969, and planned to be used on the cancelled GAM-87 Skybolt air-launched ballistic missile.

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W62

The W62 was an American thermonuclear warhead designed in the 1960s and manufactured from March 1970 to June 1976.

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W63 (nuclear warhead)

The W63 was the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory's entry into a brief competition between Livermore and Los Alamos to design a warhead for the Army's Lance tactical surface to surface missile.

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W66 (nuclear warhead)

The W66 thermonuclear warhead was used on the Sprint anti-ballistic missile system, designed to be a short-range interceptor to shoot down incoming ICBM warheads.

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W68

The W68 warhead was the warhead used on the UGM-73 Poseidon SLBM missile.

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W69

The W69 was a United States nuclear warhead used in the AGM-69 SRAM (Short-Range Attack Missile).

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W70

W70 was a two-stage, thermonuclear warhead that was developed for the MGM-52 Lance missile by the United States.

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W71

The W71 nuclear warhead was a US thermonuclear warhead developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and deployed on the LIM-49A Spartan missile, a component of the Safeguard Program, an anti-ballistic missile (ABM) defense system briefly deployed by the US in the 1970s.

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W76

The W76 is an American thermonuclear warhead, designed for use on the UGM-96 Trident I submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and subsequently moved to the UGM-133 Trident II as Trident I was phased out of service.

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W78

The W78 is an American thermonuclear warhead with an estimated yield of, deployed on the LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and housed in the Mark 12A reentry vehicle.

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W79 Artillery-Fired Atomic Projectile

The W79 Artillery-Fired Atomic Projectile (AFAP), also known as XM753 (Atomic RA), was an American nuclear artillery shell, capable of being fired from any NATO howitzer e.g. the M115 and M110 howitzer.

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W80 (nuclear warhead)

The W80 is a low to intermediate yield two-stage thermonuclear warhead deployed by the U.S. enduring stockpile with a variable yield ("dial-a-yield") of.

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W84

The W84 is an American thermonuclear warhead initially designed for use on the BGM-109G Gryphon Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM).

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W85 (nuclear warhead)

The W85 was a thermonuclear warhead developed by the United States of America to arm the Pershing II missile.

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W87

The W87 is an American thermonuclear missile warhead formerly deployed on the LGM-118A Peacekeeper ("MX") ICBM.

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W88

The W88 is an American thermonuclear warhead, with an estimated yield of, and is small enough to fit on MIRVed missiles.

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W89

The W89 was an American thermonuclear warhead design intended for use on the AGM-131 SRAM II air to ground nuclear missile and the UUM-125 Sea Lance anti-submarine missile.

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Weapons-grade nuclear material

Weapons-grade nuclear material is any fissionable nuclear material that is pure enough to make a nuclear weapon and has properties that make it particularly suitable for nuclear weapons use. Pit (nuclear weapon) and weapons-grade nuclear material are nuclear weapons and plutonium.

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Welding

Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, primarily by using high temperature to melt the parts together and allow them to cool, causing fusion.

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Yellow Sun (nuclear weapon)

Yellow Sun was the first British operational high-yield strategic nuclear weapon warhead.

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1,1,1-Trichloroethane

The organic compound 1,1,1-trichloroethane, also known as methyl chloroform and chlorothene, is a chloroalkane with the chemical formula CH3CCl3.

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1966 Palomares B-52 crash

The 1966 Palomares B-52 crash, also called the Palomares incident, occurred on 17 January 1966, when a B-52G bomber of the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command collided with a KC-135 tanker during mid-air refueling at over the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Spain.

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1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash

On 21 January 1968, an aircraft accident, sometimes known as the Thule affair or Thule accident (Thuleulykken), involving a United States Air Force (USAF) B-52 bomber occurred near Thule Air Base in the Danish territory of Greenland.

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References

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pit_(nuclear_weapon)

Also known as Levitated pit, Plutonium core, Plutonium pit.

Pit (nuclear weapon), the Glossary

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