mrdownIran could develop nuclear suicide bomb vests, claims JD Vance
talNuclear terrorism might be a thing, but I seriously doubt that the easiest way to do it is nuclear suicide vests. Miniaturizing nuclear warheads is a pain. If you were going to do something like that, you’d be better off doing something akin to a truck bomb.
Much more likely would be a dirty bomb. Just a regular bomb with some nuclear material that it spreads. The nuclear material isn’t the bomb itself, but used exclusively for the exposure effects.
I’m not that surprised. Radiation poisoning is a special kind of torture for EVERYONE. Shit would immediately invalidate any goodwill or sympathy for whomever uses them.
It would also be dangerous and expensive for the people making it.
It also wouldn’t be much more lethal than a bomb of equivalent mass. If you’re close enough to get a lethal dose of polonium or w/e, you’re probably also getting a lethal dose of shrapnel.
I’m kind of skepitical of the “dirty bomb” idea. Frankly, it sounds like a load of bullshit, because of the πr2 thing. Namely, if you want to irradiate and area to a sufficient extent to cause immediate radiation sickness, then keeping it concentrated is your best bet. A very small bomb, at most.
The other extreme would be a huge bomb to spread radioactive material over, say, a city. At which point it barely raises the radioactivity above background levels. Or at least doesn’t cause immediately apparent effects. Imagine terrorists issuing a statement like, “Sure, it doesn’t seem so bad TODAY, but wait ‘til you see the slight bump in cancer rates in 20 years.”
Indeed, on looking it up, I see that the experts are skeptical, too, and tests conducted by Israel didn’t find much effectiveness. That could be why we haven’t seen one used.
Yeah, but destruction and loss of life isn’t the point. Terror is. If a dirty bomb was detonated I’m a city, and it contained enough nuclear material to say, cause a 10% jump in cancer outlooks over a 20 year period, that’s not the point.
The point is that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs to come out, shut a city down, do all sorts of testing, clean the shit out of everything, and disrupt everyone’s lives. The fear is the point, and as a fear-causing weapon, radiation is in a unique class all its own.
For that matter, then you don’t need to put any radioactive material in it at all, but just claim it.
BlueÆtherI think the value would be the ‘terror’ in the general public if a dirty bomb went in downtown in any major US city.
I think that would make for an ideal terrorist weapon for use against the US
Fuck - I’m probably on a watch list again. I think I was flagged post 9/11 for online chat around laptops, bottles of water and vodka. Every flight I took from 2000 to about 2007 I was pulled out and patted down/bag searched/turn laptop on/…
Honestly, the problem with a dirty bomb isn’t the cancer rates or w.e, its the sheer amount of propaganda that has gone into scaring people over nuclear energy. Yes, the propaganda is mostly to stop nuclear reactors to force reliance on oil, but its still there.
I used to use a nuclear soil density gauge. The gauge was not at all scary, I could use it as a seat for a whole year, and it would have a minimal effect on my lifetime cancer rates.
But no matter how many times I explained it, as soon as I said “Nuclear Gauge” people got scared.
“Nuclear” has become a scare word, so a nuclear dirty bomb is terrifying to people.
WesDym@SwingingTheLamp Then you don't understand the concept, and that's okay. Lots of people don't understand lots of stuff. I don't understand why sports is such a big deal. But I don't call it bullshit for that reason.
A dirty bomb is a terrorist weapon. It's meant to cause terror. You're focusing on practical matters that are not important to that goal. OF COURSE it's a shitty bomb. That's why no govts make them. From a practical standpoint, it's shit. But from a terror standpoint, it's great.
Geez, you don’t have to be such an ass about it. The commenter was talking about sources of radioactive materials, which is irrelevant.
@SwingingTheLamp They were being full of themselves. When you make comments in public, you elect to expose yourself to possible criticism.
You'll get over it. Get some sleep.
Yeah, but you chose to be a massive dick about it. A couple of other folks commented along similar lines, but respectfully. That’s on you.
@SwingingTheLamp Take 30 days, Capt. Self-Righteous.
Shit now I’m imagining Tony Stark miniaturizing a nuclear warhead and immediately going “this would make a really great suicide vest”
Iran didn’t have to develop the tech itself. Clearly they have captured a Predator.
@tal Definitely. A functional fission device is a major technical challenge, even for the most developed countries. A dirty bomb is much easier, and much more likely.
But, the real world is not a game, and powers that could do that almost certainly know it would not be worth it.
The real fear is of fringe terrorists groups doing it, because they're not as likely to be sensible about it, and some of them are crazy extremists who think some god is on their side.