Nuclear
A Primer on Nuclear: July 27 came the following from a friend from College days – we were in dorm rooms across the hall from each other 1958-61, we and the others boys from mostly tiny North Dakota towns.
Darryll ended up as a 40 year professor at a Big 8 University, retiring as Emeritus. He took to science like a fish to water, and what follows with his permission are his thoughts on the issue of Nuclear, again a big topic of conversation. Here’s his thoughts. Remember, don’t forget the announcement at the end of this post.
To Senators Ricketts and Fischer, and Congressman Flood- Jul 22, 2026
Once again I am writing you as my representatives to the US Congress. There is a huge assertion that Iran is on the verge of making a Uranium nuclear bomb and we are at war with Iran to stop them. That assertion has no legs, but does have dangerous consequences. Note, one assassination led to WW 1I There are multiple different paths to a much larger war in the current war with Iran. I will address the huge assertion that Iran is on the verge of having nuclear weapons and that is a danger to all of the world. I will try to rebut the assertion using science.
In WW II, the United States made the first nuclear bombs. The first one dropped on Japan was a Uranium (U235) bomb, the second was a Plutonium (Pu239) bomb. After that nearly all nuclear bombs were made of Pu239. The Hanford nuclear site in eastern Washington created enough Pu239 to make over 60,000 nuclear weapons. No more U235 bombs were made. I will address why no more U235 bombs were made.
In all of nature there are only two isotopes of uranium, U235 and U238. U235 is much more radioactive than U238 so 99% of Uranium in nature is U238, the U235 has decayed radioactively. Less than 1% of U in nature is U 235. Only U235 is radioactive enough to achieve nuclear fission, using larger amounts, in a bomb. Both isotopes have the same chemical characteristics so chemical separation will not work. They do have different nuclear weights, 235 and 238, a very small percentage difference. High speed centrifuges can separate the two isotopes but the enrichment is about to 60% U235. This not nearly high enough to make a nuclear bomb. In WWII the required U235 enrichment was accomplished using very energy demanding processes and only small quantities of U235 could be enriched to the point of making a nuclear bomb.
Enriched U235 can be included in fuel rods for nuclear reactors to produce the energy for generating electrical power. Special methods are used to slow spontaneous nuclear particles produced in radioactive decay so nuclear fission occurs. Control rods can shut down the spontaneous nuclear particles flux by absorbing them. It should be noted that the radioactive decay particles of U235 and U238 are also very radioactive in themselves so fuel rods are highly radioactive. A barrel volume of spent fuel rods generates heat equivalent to a clothes dryer, for 10’s of thousands of years. That is why nuclear reactors have to be continuously cooled , even if the reactor is not running. Spent fuel rods are housed in large swimming pools. No safe repository has been found that will contain these spent rods for 10,000’s of years.
So how is Pu239 made, as it is a man-made element? Pu239 is extremely radioactive and nuclear fission can easily be attained with small amounts. A special type of nuclear reactor is used, called a breeder reactor. These reactors are designed so U238 included in the fuel rod can be converted to Pu239. They are called breeder reactors because they produce more radioactive energy then they consume, in the form of Pu239. The much more effective chemical processes can be used to extract the Pu239 created from the other radioactive material in the fuel rods.
The United States chose to not use commercial breeder reactors because Pu239 is formed which brings in the factor of safety. Spent fuel rods in breeder reactors can be used to make nuclear bombs by anyone with some skills. Once again, Uranium is not the bogey man that Trump and others claim.
Nuclear weapons are the giant in the room. The term ‘Mutual Assured Destruction” (MAD) comes into play. The nuclear bombs have been upgraded in power far beyond that of WWII. One cannot ever use them, because it could be the end of civilization (nuclear winter).
I grew up in North Dakota, the site of two major Air Force bases. When I was a PhD student (Graduated 1970) at the University of North Dakota, located in Grand Forks, I could hear the roar of jets taking off at the nearby Grand Forks Air Force base. Every 8 hours a new strike (Operation Chrome Dome) was launched toward Russia. Bombers, tanker planes, and escorting fighters headed to Russia followed 8 hours later with another launch, etc.. When the strike reached a point near Russia they turned around. The United States could not withstand a major surprise attack and still respond effectively so Chrome Dome assured the attacker would pay the same price . There were also 300 IBM sites associated with the base. They could be launched within minutes. The second AFB base in the state was near Minot, ND. Same operation as Grand Forks AFB. No nuclear power would try to attack another country, with Nukes, because of MAD. Alliances such as NATO were formed to further keep the peace. We are still in that mode now. One hears statements that Israel is very afraid of Iran having Nuclear weapons. Israel has had Nukes since the early 70’s. They tested them in the ocean islands off India. This country and other countries negotiated a “treaty” with Iran that included on site inspections. Trump tore up that agreement. Trump initiated attacks on Iranian nuclear sites and said the uranium issue was destroyed in these attacks. Trump joined with Israel in launching major attacks on Iran. I submit that Uranium is not the danger, there are other reasons for starting of the war with Iran. These reasons have not been articulated in detail nor the end game. I suggest that oil played a part in the decision. Trump has mentioned oil more than once, and even said once that an American oil company should take over Iran’s oil. The lessons of history have not been learned by Trump or Israel. I was very concerned with Trump firing all of the senior military leaders. Their collected experience would have represented far better guidance than the current Secretary of Defense, a former Fox news host.
The ball is now in your court. Your collective experience needs to be put to work. Right now you need to honor the oath you swore to uphold and protect this country. The Constitution should be your guideline.
I was asked to attend an OLLI meeting several weeks ago. I am an Emeritus Professor of UNL (40 years), and have even taken courses in nuclear physics in graduate school, main field hydrogeology. At the meeting one of the speakers said Israel was afraid of Iran going nuclear. I raised my hand and pointed out that Israel has nuclear weapons. I also mentioned briefly that possession of uranium does not mean Iran has nuclear weapons (see above). I further added the concept of MAD is applicable. I finished with saying “one would have to be an idiot to use nuclear weapons in today’s world.” I was totally surprised when many in the audience (about 130 people attending) started chanting “Trump is an idiot.” These are senior citizens who are still active in today’s events. I had never said Trump once in my statements.
I am asking you to think long and hard. The times are dangerous and the administration does not appear to have the experience nor ability to think wisely about what they are doing. They have started something that they don’t know what to do next, except to escalate further..
Darryll Pederson, Emeritus Professor UNL
*
