LLL comments on The Ultimate Catastrophe

Technical Report · Tue Dec 23 00:00:00 EST 1975

OSTI ID:443240

Batzel, R E

This correspondence provides a discussion of purported hazards of nuclear energy production and weapons research. The possibility of atmospheric burn and oceanic burn are discounted, and the cross sections of Nitrogen are investigated and the concentration of D[sub 2]O in the oceans are considered. In conclusion, extremely conservative calculations demonstrated that it is completely impossible for either the earth`s atmosphere or sea to sustain fusion reactions of either thermonuclear nuclear chain reaction type. And, in particular, such reactions cannot be triggered by the explosion of nuclear weapons, even those having unrealistically high yield and impractical high yield-to-weight.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 443240
• Report Number(s): UCRL-ID-125509; ON: DE97050860
• Resource Relation: Other Information: DN: Declassified; PBD: 23 Dec 1975
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
29 ENERGY PLANNING AND POLICY
NUCLEAR ENERGY
HAZARDS
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
CHAIN REACTIONS
CROSS SECTIONS
NITROGEN 14
HEAVY WATER
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTIONS