What is the material Fogbank?

What is the material Fogbank?

Fogbank is a code name given to a material used in the W76, W78 and W88 nuclear warheads that are part of the United States nuclear arsenal. Fogbank’s precise nature is classified; in the words of former Oak Ridge general manager Dennis Ruddy, “The material is classified. Its composition is classified.

What is the main ingredient in an atomic bomb?

uranium
Atomic bombs are made up of a fissile element, such as uranium, that is enriched in the isotope that can sustain a fission nuclear chain reaction. When a free neutron hits the nucleus of a fissile atom like uranium-235 (235U), the uranium splits into two smaller atoms called fission fragments, plus more neutrons.

Why is it naturally difficult to make an atomic bomb?

You need a concentrated (“enriched”) lump of the less stable form, uranium-235, which is only about 1\% of naturally occurring uranium. (The other 99\%, uranium-238, doesn’t work for an atom bomb because it doesn’t split apart easily enough). So most countries fail to find enough nuclear fuel to make a bomb.

What chemical was first used to create nuclear weapons?

The first atomic device tested successfully at Alamagordo in New Mexico on 16 July 1945. It used plutonium made in a nuclear pile. The teams did not consider that it was necessary to test a simpler U-235 device. The first atomic bomb, which contained U-235, was dropped on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945.

What is the most challenging step in creating a nuclear weapon?

As explained above, creating a sufficient amount of HEU is the most challenging step of building this type of nuclear weapon, requiring raw materials, expertise, infrastructure, and massive amounts of energy.

What is FOGBANK and what is it used for?

A variety of DOE Nuclear Explosive Safety documents describe FOGBANK as a material “used in nuclear weapons and nuclear explosives” along with Lithium hydride (LiH) and Lithium deuteride (LiD), Beryllium (Be), Uranium hydride (UH3), and Plutonium hydride.

Is FOGBANK a fusion reaction?

When the first stage, which is a normal fission reaction, goes off, the interstage material would turn into superheated plasma and then trigger a fusion reaction in the second stage. Experts also believe that Fogbank is an aerogel, a category of ultralight gels in which the traditionally liquid component is instead a gas.

Is FOGBANK an interstage weapon?

NNSA director Thomas D’Agostino in 2009. D’Agostino’s description of Fogbank as an “interstage material” has led experts to largely conclude that it sits between the primary and secondary stages of a two-stage thermonuclear weapon.

What happened to the US’s ‘FOGBANK’?

Fogbank, or at the least the story of re-booting its production, has come up more recently amid the broad U.S. efforts to modernize America’s nuclear arsenal in recent years.