Subcritical Nuclear Weapons Tests

U.S. Conducts Subcritical Nuclear Test Series

3/13/07

The United States has conducted four subcritical nuclear tests this year involving small amounts of plutonium, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported yesterday

The Nevada Test Site experiments, dubbed the “Thermos” tests, have involved gram-size amounts of fissile material, less than in previous U.S. subcritical tests. Such tests examine the properties of plutonium during an explosion without creating a nuclear chain reaction.

“There is no nuclear yield out of this,” said NTS head Gerald Talbot. “So, we're trying to determine what the material properties of plutonium are at higher temperatures and pressures.”

The most recent Thermos test was conduct Thursday and the first was exploded Feb. 7, according to Energy Department spokesman Darwin Morgan (Keith Rogers, Las Vegas Review-Journal, March 12).

Nevada test site manager sees challenges ahead. From Thermos-5 to bunker buster