The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #83501 Message #1535254
Posted By: beardedbruce
04-Aug-05 - 08:09 PM
Thread Name: BS: An American Hiroshima
Subject: RE: BS: An American Hiroshima
Donuel
Tritium is only used in fusion devices. It has a short enough half-life that there is a need to make more now, just to maintain existing stocks. Uranium and plutonium, however, have halflives measured in thousands of years- so a few decades would not make much difference. The explosive used to set it off might decay- but as is seen in Iraq, the stockpiles from 15 years ago seem to be working just fine.