Nuclear Forensics
Techniques of Nuclear Forensics
- Electron Microscopy
- Profilometry
- Size and features
- Spectroscopy
- Age
- Oxygen isotope ratio
What Eastern European country suspended global cooperation in HEU removal in 2011?
Belarus
What is a dirty bomb?
Where most of the energy is released for a 1Mt air explosion
Blast (50%)
According to Louise Richardson, what are the three basic reasons terrorists act (The Three R's)?
Revenge, Renown, Reaction
What is profilometry?
Process of measuring the surface roughness of fuel pellets
What are the "Three No's" from the Allison doctrine?
1. No loose nukes
2. No new nascent nukes
3. No new nuclear weapon states
What is an Improvised Nuclear Device (IND)?
A nuclear bomb assembled using stolen fissile material rather than a military-built nuclear weapon
Cause of a "Nuclear Winter"
Dust, ash, and soot injected into the atmosphere, which cools Earth
Name two of Louise Richardson's six rules for countering terrorism
- Having defensible and achievable goals
- Live by your principles
- Know your enemy
- Separate the terrorists from their community
- Engage others in countering terrorists with you
- Have patience and keep your perspective
How many incidents of theft or loss of nuclear or radioactive materials were reported to the IAEA between 1993 and 2008?
There were 421 reported incidents
Name the three initiatives established by the NNSA under the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI).
Convert, Remove, Protect
Name 4 key properties of Cruise Missiles
- Small
- Easily stored and launched
- Highly penetrating
- Versatile
- Highly accurate
- Cheap
- Radioactive noble gases escape
- Seismic waves
- Sound waves that travel through Earth's crust
According to John Lynn, what are the four basic strategies of terrorists?
Intimidation, Initiation, Attrition, Evolution
What three items accounted for 80% of radiological false alarm by portal monitors between May 2001 and March 2005
Ceramics, Bananas, and Kitty Litter
According to ODNI Threat assessments, by what method is the US more likely to be attacked by nuclear weapons, and why?
The US territory is more likely to be attacked with nuclear weapons using non-missile delivery means –most likely from terrorists– than by missiles, primarily because non-missile delivery means are less costly, easier to acquire, and more reliable and accurate
Why is plutonium generally unsuitable for gun-type nuclear weapons?
Plutonium has a high spontaneous fission rate that can cause predetonation, requiring a more complex implosion design
Type of burst by HOB that produces the highest amount of fallout
Ejecta from explosion transports radioactive isotopes, making fallout effects more important for surface bursts
Categories in which states can commit terrorism, according to Louise Richardson, and their definitions
- State-sponsored terrorism: acts against inhabitants of other countries as an instrument of foreign policy
- State terrorism: acts against its own citizens to coerce them into accepting the government's authority
- War terrorism: acts against civilians of another country whit which it is at war
List 7 factors and actions that have increased the risk of nuclear terrorism
- Inexorable advance of science and technology
- North Korea's growing nuclear stockpile
- Metastasis of terrorists
- US airstrikes and special forces raids in seven Muslim-majority countries
- Pakistan's growing nuclear arsenal and development of tactical nukes
- Collapse of US-Russia nuclear security cooperation after Russia's invasion of Crimea
- Erosion of confidence in the nonproliferation regime
- Potential for large-scale reprocessing of Pu in China and Japan
- Poor handling by the Trump Administration of the situation in Iran
What is the "Triad" paradigm in U.S. strategic forces?
The Triad consists of three systems: Intercontinental-range bombers, Intercontinental-range ballistic missiles, and Submarine-launched ballistic missiles
Temperature anomaly expected from a SORT war scenario in degrees Celsius
Six to ten degrees Celsius
- Second Wave (1945-1980): National liberation terrorism and urban guerrilla groups. Focused on national liberation and anti-colonialism. Groups fought to kick out colonial powers.
- Third Wave (1980-present): Islamist terrorism. This wave is motivated by religious beliefs and is carried out by transnational networks