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Quote: "and though it takes roughly 100 pounds of it to build an atomic bomb...”

Are they stupid at PM or just selling misinformation?





This matches other sources on the internet: a bomb requires about 15kg of U-235 [0] with a good use of neutron reflectors, and HEU by definition contains 20%+ of U-235 [1]. We don't know exactly what the U-235 concentration was in the Kodak device, but reasonable values would make the claim "roughly" correct.

[0] https://www.britannica.com/technology/nuclear-weapon/Princip...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enriched_uranium


Their SNM license was for “up to 93.5% enriched”[1] and their decommissioning plan describes them as MTR-type Al-clad plates. So I’d take a reasonable guess that these are at 93% nominal enrichment, like ATR and HFIR fuel plates.

[1] https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML0900/ML090080661.pdf

[2] https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ml0816/ML081690374.pdf


HEU != 20% enriched -- 20% is more like the floor for considering it HEU. You need much more than 20% to make an efficient Uranium bomb.

At least it wasn't "though it takes at least the equivalent of 12.5 bald eagles of it to build an atomic bomb"

The whole article is a journalistic nothingburger.



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