Centrifuge question
Discussion
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4336559.stm
What is so special about this device?
I though a centrifuge was just something that span around with test tubes. Wouldn't of thought it'd be too difficult to knock up in a shed.
But whats special about this particular device?
What is so special about this device?
I though a centrifuge was just something that span around with test tubes. Wouldn't of thought it'd be too difficult to knock up in a shed.
But whats special about this particular device?
I wouldn't be at all surprised if it uses Physical Vapour Deposition type techniques (electron beam) to get/keep the Uranium gaseous.
That means that the centrifuge is probably evacuated.
Then you've got the the speed that the thing runs at.
Then the material being worked is gently radioactive.
To cap it all you have to do it on a huge scale to get a small ammount of product.
I doubt that there's much comparable equipment.
Once you've got enough enriched uranium, you can use it to produce plutonium and heu on a bigger scale in a breeder.
>> Edited by dilbert on Thursday 10th March 17:38
>> Edited by dilbert on Thursday 10th March 17:41
That means that the centrifuge is probably evacuated.
Then you've got the the speed that the thing runs at.
Then the material being worked is gently radioactive.
To cap it all you have to do it on a huge scale to get a small ammount of product.
I doubt that there's much comparable equipment.
Once you've got enough enriched uranium, you can use it to produce plutonium and heu on a bigger scale in a breeder.
>> Edited by dilbert on Thursday 10th March 17:38
>> Edited by dilbert on Thursday 10th March 17:41
The ultra centrifuges we use go up to several hundred thousand Gs and cost a fortune to buy and maintain.
The ones used to separate individul atoms by mass must be pretty serious bits of kit. There's also the point that they can't really be used for much else. Of course Iran with its oil reserve of a mere 95 billion bbl probably needs this technology for peaceful nuclear power rather than anything untoward
The ones used to separate individul atoms by mass must be pretty serious bits of kit. There's also the point that they can't really be used for much else. Of course Iran with its oil reserve of a mere 95 billion bbl probably needs this technology for peaceful nuclear power rather than anything untoward
IIRC, you need more than a few centrifuges, the models I have looked at quote 2 "cascades" each containing well over 1000. Sure, my books are old but the process of separation has not improved that much. They also take a fair bit of powering up, try a big old power station! Not something you just plug into the wall.
I'm pretty cynical about the feasibility of third world countries undertaking separation by centrifuge. The operation is gigantic on a chemical scale and involves some seriously nasty compounds. It's not something you can whack up in your backyard like the news suggests.
I always look at the motives for this very carefully. (My book on Uranium Separation was mid 70's IIRC)
I'm pretty cynical about the feasibility of third world countries undertaking separation by centrifuge. The operation is gigantic on a chemical scale and involves some seriously nasty compounds. It's not something you can whack up in your backyard like the news suggests.
I always look at the motives for this very carefully. (My book on Uranium Separation was mid 70's IIRC)
love machine said:
IIRC, you need more than a few centrifuges, the models I have looked at quote 2 "cascades" each containing well over 1000. Sure, my books are old but the process of separation has not improved that much. They also take a fair bit of powering up, try a big old power station! Not something you just plug into the wall.
I'm pretty cynical about the feasibility of third world countries undertaking separation by centrifuge. The operation is gigantic on a chemical scale and involves some seriously nasty compounds. It's not something you can whack up in your backyard like the news suggests.
I always look at the motives for this very carefully. (My book on Uranium Separation was mid 70's IIRC)
I should think that book is quite interesting.
The thing I find intriguing is that as I understand it, once you've got enough HEU to get the reactions going on in a reactor you don't need the centrifuge anymore.
I might be wrong in my estimation of what exactly it is, but it doesn't sound cheap. What better thing to do than to sell the plant on when you've finished with it. I wonder who originally made it?
I guess, that in this context, it's a bit of a political hot potato, that makes Pakistan look a whole lot less bad than it might otherwise.
In some ways, it could be that Kahn happened to be the unfortunate bloke responsible for it, when he was told to sell it. That is just conjecture, but I find it's always useful to have two potential sides to a story.
If true it makes the idea of bombing it out of existance quite attractive to whomever constructed it.
>> Edited by dilbert on Thursday 10th March 20:12
D_Mike said:
To separate out two isotopes differing by a few Daltons is going to require a very expensive, very big, very fast centrifuge I imagine. Its not something you could do by holding test tubes out to your sides and spinning round on the spot a few times
You have several thousand little ones. It's like distillation, the enriched stuff goes one way and the depleted stuff the other.
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