Weapons of Mass Destruction:

Nuclear
Biological
Chemical

Prof. Lynn R. Cominsky

SSU Departments of Physics &
Astronomy and Chemistry
 Talk Outline
 Nuclear Weapons
 Background
 Fission

 
             
       
 Fusion

 Effects
                                 
 Proliferation

 Biological Weapons
 Chemical Weapons
 The Helium Atom
e • Two electrons orbiting a nucleus
with:
p n 2 protons = Z = atomic number
n p
2 neutrons = N
• Total mass = A = Z+N
e • Singly ionized Helium is missing one
electron = 4He+
4
He • Doubly ionized Helium is missing
both electrons =  particle = 4He++
 Isotopes and Elements
e  If Helium loses one of its
protons, it becomes a
p
different element 3H
n n
e

e
p
 If Helium loses one of its n p
neutrons, it becomes an
isotope 3
He e
Materials
 Tritium = 3H = very heavy Hydrogen
(1p + 2n), used in fusion weapons
 Deuterium = 2H = heavy Hydrogen
(1p + 1n), used in fusion weapons
 Uranium: 238U is >99% in nature
235U is ~0.7% in nature – major

ingredient in fission weapons

 Plutonium: 239Pu is not found in
nature, used in fission weapons
 Uranium processing
 Uranium is mined as ore from open pits or
deep shaft mines, often with the help of
extracting solutions
 At nearby mills, ore is crushed and U is
extracted, leaving behind radioactive
tailings
 Extracted U is then leached (with sulfuric
acid) forming a concentrate known as
“yellowcake” (aka Uranium oxide U3O8)
 Yellowcake is then turned into UF6 gas,
which can be cooled to a solid for easier
transport
 Enriching Uranium
 Naturally occurring Uranium must be
enriched to >90% 235U in order to make
fission weapons (or to ~5% for nuclear
power plants)
 Enrichment methods
 Gas centrifuge (now being used in Iran and
found in Iraq after 1st Gulf War)
 Gaseous diffusion (used in USA)
 Electromagnetic isotope separation –
(unexpectedly found in Iraq after 1st Gulf War)
 Depleted Uranium
 After isotope separation, the remaining 238U is
said to be “depleted” as it is missing 235U –
however, 238U is still naturally radioactive
 Uranium is a very dense metal (1.7 x Pb),
making it ideal for use in armor and shell casings
 Uranium is pyrophoric – friction causes it to burn
 The USA used depleted Uranium weapons in the
Persian Gulf War (1991), in Bosnia (1995),
Kosovo (1999) and in Iraq (present war)
 Various health problems have been associated
with the inhalation of vaporized Uranium dust
 Fission Weapons
 Fission
 releases energy in elements heavier than
Iron
 Bombard U or Pu with neutrons, they split
into fragments, releasing energy
 “A” bombs
n
n
n 235
U n
Critical mass  chain reactions
 When a large enough mass of either 235U or
239Pu is assembled, a self-sustaining chain

reaction results after the first fission is

produced.
 The minimum (“critical”) mass of fissile material
that can sustain a nuclear chain reaction
depends on the density, shape, and type of
fissile material, as well as the effectiveness of
any surrounding material (called a reflector or
tamper) at reflecting neutrons back into the
fissioning mass.
 Depleted U is often used in the tamper
 The first “A” bombs
 Trinity – Gadget (7/16/45)
 Alamagordo test range in New Mexico
 20 kTon yield
 Little Boy (8/6/45)
 Hiroshima Museum display in NM
 15 kTon yield
 Fat Man (8/9/45)
 Nagasaki
 20 kTon yield

http://www.fas.org/nuke/hew/Usa/Med/Lbfm.html
 How to make an “A” bomb
 Use >90% 235U
 Squeeze and confine evenly
 Reflect neutrons back into 235U
 Use initial explosive device to trigger
Little Boy (Hiroshima 8/6/45)
3m

A-bomb dome
http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/peacesite/English/Stage1/1-3/1-3-3E.html
 “Fat Man” style of A-bomb
 High explosives are arranged to form an
imploding shock wave which compresses
the fissile material to supercriticality.

 Burst of neutrons
from generator is
timed for moment
of maximum
compression
 Low Yield Nuclear Weapons
 Designed to “threaten hard and deeply buried
targets."
 Despite claims to produce less fallout due to
underground explosion, a 5 kTon weapon would
produce considerable quantities of radioactive
dirt
“Dirty” bombs
 Does not involve nuclear explosion
 Spreads radiological materials over a
wide area
 Most deaths (<100) would be due to
the blast, not to the radioactivity
 “Weapon of mass disruption”
 “Difference between a dirty bomb and a
nuclear bomb is the difference between
a lightning bug and lightning” – Allison
 Much easier to make, however.
 Fusion Weapons D
D

 Fusion 4
He
 Elements lighter than Iron release energy
when combined
 Deuterium, Tritium, Lithium
 Reactions that occur inside Sun
 “H” bombs
 Thermonuclear Reactions
 Heat from reaction increases reaction rate,
so less fuel is needed  “efficient” bomb
 The “secret” of the H-bomb
 At the high temperatures of a fission bomb 80% or more
of the energy exists as soft X-rays
 The X-rays heat a polystyrene channel, causing plasma
which can compress and ignite the second (fusion) stage
before the expanding (1000 km/sec) primary disrupts it.
 Fusion weapons

Published due to Wen Ho Lee case

http://www.fas.org/sgp/eprint/morland.html
 Why is an atomic bomb so much
worse than a TNT bomb?
 Amount of heat and light
energy released is 1000 times
greater
 Explosion is accompanied by
invisible, penetrating and
harmful radiation
 After explosion, radioactive
fallout remains and continues
to damage living things for days
 weeks  years Ground level view
of Hiroshima cloud
 Physical Effects of Nuclear Weapons
Trinity
 Thermal
 Fireball  Firestorms
 Mushroom Cloud
 Initial (prompt) Radiation
 Alpha particles (4He++)
Bridge in Hiroshima
 Beta particles (e+ and e-)
 Gamma-rays (
 Neutrons (n)
http://nuketesting.enviroweb.org/
 Physical Effects of Nuclear Weapons
Hiroshima buildings
 Pressure Blast Wave
 Buildings collapse
 Fallout
 Radioactive fragments which stick
to air particles or dirt that is sucked
up mushroom stem
 80% falls back down in first day
 90% falls back down in first week
 10% lasts weeks  years

Nagasaki victim
 Physical Effects of Nuclear Weapons

 Electromagnetic Pulse
 Strongest for very high bursts
 rays ionize air  electrons
 Electrons create large currents in air
 Currents are picked up by power lines
 Power surges shut down grid, destroy
attached electrical devices
 1.4 Mton airburst in 1962 knocked out
lights in Hawaii over 1000 miles away
 Electromagnetic Pulse Effects

http://www.heritage.org/library/backgrounder/bg1372.html
How big are the weapons?
 1 kTon = 1000 tons = 2,000,000
pounds of TNT equivalent
 ~2 pounds of 235U  20 kTons
 Today’s warhead is 100-200 kTons
 Largest underground burst: 4.5Mtons
 Largest airburst: 58 Mtons
 Over 1700 known tests since 1945
 Who has nuclear weapons?
Thermonuclear Israel(tests)
Russia (2700)
Fission UK (55.5)

N. Korea
US (1800)
China(400)
All
numbers
in Mtons
France (91.5) India(tests)

Pakistan(tests)
 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
 Vertical – development of new weapons by the
“Big 5”
 Horizontal – spread of weapons to other
countries
 “Haves” agree not to spread weapons, materials
or technology to “have-nots” – also, to stop
vertical proliferation
 “Have-nots” agree not to try to acquire weapons
from the “haves,” and will accept inspection and
regulation of “peaceful” nuclear technology by
IAEA- this stops horizontal proliferation
 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
 NPT indefinitely extended since May 1995,
confirmed again in 2000
 Now signed by 187 countries
 In 1994, North Korea affirmed its signature, and
agreed to allow IAEA inspections
 On 1/10/03, N. Korea withdrew from NPT,
blaming US “axis of evil” designation, and US
first strike intentions. N. Korea is now “in its
final stages” to begin Pu production from 8000
spent fuel rods
 Cuba, Israel, India and Pakistan still not
signatories
 Who still wants nuclear weapons?
 Iraq ?
 Iran – enriching U

 Libya

 Algeria

 Syria

 Chechnya (old

USSR?)
 All subject to

severe constraints
 No longer on the “watch” list
 S. Africa
 Eliminated 6 weapons in 1991
 Formal renunciation of use
 Have backed away or renounced
use:
 Argentina  Belarus
 Brazil
 Ukraine
 Romania
 Taiwan Kazakhstan
 Types of Biological Weapons
 Bacteria
 Cause disease by reproducing

 
 Single cell organism
 Typhus, anthrax
 Viruses Anthrax

           Multiply only inside host cells

    Sub-microscopic organisms
 Ebola, Chikungunya
Ebola
 Types of Biological Weapons
 Rickettsia
 Larger than viruses
 Smaller than bacteria
 From fleas, lice and ticks
 Q-fever
 Toxins
 Poisons from living things
 Snake venom
 Botulinum most lethal known – <10-6 g!
 But some beneficial uses
Types of Chemical Weapons
 Nerve agents
 Inhibit enzyme that transmits messages
from nerve cells to muscles
 Lethal dose <1-10 mg
 Mustard agents
 Blistering of skin, lungs
 Lethal dose >500 mg
 Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) gas
 Prevents blood from carrying oxygen
 Lethal dose > 120 mg
Types of Chemical Weapons
 Tear gases
 Cause pain in eyes
 Do not affect horses or dogs
 Short term effects
 Arsines
 Mixed with mustard gas
 Psychotomimetic agents
 Cause temporary psychosis
 LSD, atropine

LSD
Why Use Chemical or Biological Weapons?
 Cheap
 Easy Technology
 Simple delivery systems
 Artillery shells
 Rocket launchers
 Aerosol sprays
 Research into biological weapons
continues for treating diseases,
developing vaccines, anti-toxins, etc.
Chemical/Biological Weapons Problems
 Chemical weapons largely ineffective
 Biological weapons can’t be stored
 Protection against both is relatively easy
on the battlefield
 Both are really “weapons of terror”
against citizens or “weapons of
intimidation” against soldiers rather
than “weapons of mass destruction”
http://www.ceip.org/files/publications/Harigelreport.asp?p=
Biological/Chemical Terrorism
 Since 1900, only ~75 terrorist attacks
out of more than 40,000 used Chemical
or Biological weapons
 Only 125 people died & ~4000 got sick
 ~20 people died in Japan in the well-
publicized nerve gas attacks. This sect
also tried to make biological weapons
but failed, after spending $1 billion.
Major killers in Wars
Howitzer
 Assault Rifles (64%)
 Handguns (10%)
 Landmines (10%)
 Hand grenades, Artillery, Mortars (16%)
 Since 1900: 34 million soldiers and 80
million civilians killed in wars world-wide
 2 Nuclear bombs killed 200,000 total.

M16
Additional Resources
 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
http://www.ceip.org/
 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention
http://projects.sipri.se/cbw/docs/bw-btwc-mainpage.html
 US position on BTWC (2001)
http://www.fas.org/bwc/news/USPublicPositionsOnProtocol.htm
 CDC Vector Borne Diseases
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/index.htm
 Chemical Weapons Convention
http://www.opcw.nl/guide.htm
 Federation of American Scientists
http://www.fas.org
Backup Slides
Radioactivity
 Primordial –
 formed before Earth’s creation
 long half lives – 238U is 4.5 x 109 y
 Cosmogenic – formed as a result of
cosmic ray interactions
 Examples: 14C (5730 y) and 3H (12.3 y)
 Man-made – typically in power plants or
accelerators
 Examples: 239Pu (2.4 x 104 y) and 131 I (8 d)
and also 3H (12.3 y)
 Fission or Fusion?
 Nuclear binding energy vs. Mass Number

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/nucene/nucbin.html
Gas centrifuge
 Uses successive stages
to isolate isotopes by
weight – lighter mixture
is sent on to the next
stage, heavier mixture
is sent back to the
previous stage
 Requires thousands of
successive stages to
create weapons grade
235U
Gaseous diffusion
 Thousands of diffusion filters needed
Electromagnetic isotope separation
 Iraq’s extensive EMIS program was
unknown until its discovery after the
Gulf War by UN inspectors
 Several unreported and disguised
facilities were found, capable of creating
quantities of weapons grade U
 Huge power requirements for EMIS have
precluded use in USA – and were
thought to preclude use by others
Reprocessing Plutonium
 239 Pu is a waste product in nuclear
power reactors, that is intermixed with
other spent reactor fuels
 In order to become weapons grade, it
must be separated out (“reprocessed”)
Reprocessing Plutonium
 Spent reactor fuel is chopped up, by remote
control, behind heavy lead shielding.
 Chopped-up pieces are then dissolved in boiling
nitric acid, releasing radioactive gases in the
process.
 Pu is chemically separated from the acid
solution, leaving large quantities of high-level
radioactive liquid waste and sludge behind.
 After it has cooled down for several years, the
liquid waste is solidified for ultimate disposal,
while the separated Pu is fabricated into nuclear
fuel or nuclear weapons.
 Depleted Uranium
 Depleted Uranium can be put into fuel
cells in a nuclear reactor and used to
produce weapons grade 239Pu
 This is why Israel bombed the French-built
OSIRAK nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981

Targets made of
depleted U which will
be bombarded by
neutrons to make Pu
238
U and the first Gulf War
 More than 640,000 pounds of
contaminated equipment was left on
the battlefields
 US-coalition forces used 238U in
 Large caliber shells fired from tanks
 Small caliber shells fired from aircraft
 Sniper bullets
 Tank armor in 1/3 (2000+) of tanks
Problems from 238
U dust
 After burning, 238U creates fine radioactive and
toxic vapor and dust
 More than 50% of these particles are just the right
size to be inhaled, where they lodge in the lungs
and remain for years
 It is easily carried by the wind, and stays in the air
for hours after impact
 It also easily dissolves in water
 Ground contamination allows resuspension into
the air and eventual water contamination
 No ground cleanup has occurred in Iraq or Kuwait
since the first Gulf War ($$$!)
 Problems from 238
U fragments
 Unburned, 238U remains radioactive – is
classified as a “low-level” waste, subject
to proper disposal and controls
 Fragments corrode with time, creating
more dust and contaminated soil
 High levels of radioactivity have been
measured from fragments found after
the first Gulf War in Iraq, Kuwait and
Saudi Arabia
Health problems
 Many US service people were exposed to
depleted Uranium during the first Gulf War
 Local populations in Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi
Arabia were also exposed
 Particles can be found in the brain, kidney,
bone, reproductive organs, muscle and spleen
 Causing kidney damage, cancers of the lung
and bone, non-malignant respiratory disease,
skin disorders, neurocognitive disorders,
chromosomal damage, and birth defects
 Weapons design considerations
 Fission bombs produce 90% of their output as kinetic
energy of fission fragments  fast heat production
 Fusion bombs produce 80% of their output as fast
neutrons with <KE> = 14 MeV
 Fast neutrons can produce a fission event of KE=180 MeV,
boosting the bomb’s “efficiency”
 Most modern weapons therefore consist of at least
two stages
 Primary – fission bomb, often boosted by fusion core
produced neutrons
 Secondary – fusion bomb, with fission “sparkplug” to
produce heat that triggers fusion, and extra layers of
external fissionable material to boost yield
Other bomb designs
 Neutron bombs
 Also known as “enhanced radiation”
weapons
 Designed to lower blast wave, thus sparing
buildings, but killing people
 However buildings do become radioactive
 “Clean” bombs
 Designed with more fusion, and less
fission,  more neutrons and less fallout
 Needed three stages for sufficient yields
 Nuclear Weapons Free Zones

 Latin America and the Caribbean (the

1967 Treaty of Tlatelolco)
 South Pacific (the 1985 Treaty of
Rarotonga)
 New treaties underway for
 Southeast Asia (started December 15,
1995)
 Africa (started April 11, 1996).
 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
 Prohibits all nuclear testing
 Opened for signatures in 1996
 Prevents “Big 5” from developing or testing
weapons of new design
 Approved by Russian Duma in 4/00
 Rejected by US Senate in 10/99
 Annex 2 has 44 states – those with nuclear
research or reactors – 41 states have
signed and 33 have ratified as of 10/05 –
India, Pakistan, N Korea have not signed.
US, China, Israel, Iran among those who
have not ratified.
 Biological Weapons History
 1300s: Plague spread by infected cadavers

 
Plague bacteria

 1760s: Native Americans infected by small

                                        
pox from British blankets
 WWII:
 Japanese use POWs for anthrax, cholera
“research”
 US develops anthrax bomb, obtains Japanese
research results
Biological Weapons History
 1950: US exposes public to “harmless”
bacteria (SF) and germs (NYC, DC)
 1969: Nixon renounced US use,
stockpiles and destroys supplies
 1972: Biological and Toxin Weapons
Convention signed and ratified
 1975: BTWC in force
 1970s  present
 US and biotech research continues…
 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention
 Signatories pledge to
 Not develop, produce, stockpile, or acquire
biological agents or toxins "of types and in
quantities that have no justification for
prophylactic, protective, and other peaceful
purposes,"
 Not develop weapons and

means of delivery.
 Destroy stockpiles within 9

months of the conventions entry into force.

 BTWC Update: Fall 2005
 Discussions still stalemated to add
verification provisions to BTWC
 In July 2001, USA officially rejected
these provisions, negotiated under
Clinton Administration
 Ongoing research projects by USA and
others are arguably in violation of the
new, strengthened treaty – we do not
want these research facilities inspected
http://www.fas.org/bwc/index.html
 Chemical Weapons History
 WWI: Mustard, Phosgene and Chlorine
gases used on battlefields
 1925 Geneva accord prohibits use in
battle but development continues
 WWII: Nerve gases made, not used
 Tabun, Sarin, Soman, VX
 1968 Open air tests kill sheep in Utah
 US bans air tests, stops making unitary
weapons

Not a real dead sheep

Chemical Weapons History
 1980s:
 Iraq uses mustard gas vs. Iran, and
possibly HCN vs. Kurds, kills > 5000
 US proposes complete CW ban, but begins
funding binary weapons
 USSR halts production, starts destroying
stockpiles
 1993:Chemical Weapons Convention
opens for signatures
 2000: 172 signatories, 139 ratifiers
Chemical Weapons Convention
 First disarmament treaty to include a
time frame for the elimination of an
entire class of weapons of mass
destruction
 First multilateral arms control treaty to
incorporate an intrusive verification
regime
 In force since 4/29/97
 US must eliminate by 2007
 http://www.cwc.gov/ -progress report