Posted by: Vivalas
« on: June 25, 2022, 06:20:37 AM »Nuclear missiles are set off by conventional explosives, but that doesn't mean that conventional explosions set of nukes. It has to be detonated in a very precise way to ensure prompt criticality without destroying the nuclear warhead in the process. Basically, if it's detonated in any way other than the precise way it's meant to be detonated, at worse you get a very nasty dirty bomb, but that's with all external forces somehow pushing the warhead inwards.
Also, a big challenge in early nuclear weapon design was ensuring that every single detonator went off at the same time. It's such a precise reaction that the small distance across the core is enough to introduce enough lag that you don't get your fun explosion. That's generally where the whole "you can't blow up nukes with bombs" thing comes from. It's a whole science just to get the things to detonate in the first place, let alone throwing explosives at one and hoping for the best.
Also, a big challenge in early nuclear weapon design was ensuring that every single detonator went off at the same time. It's such a precise reaction that the small distance across the core is enough to introduce enough lag that you don't get your fun explosion. That's generally where the whole "you can't blow up nukes with bombs" thing comes from. It's a whole science just to get the things to detonate in the first place, let alone throwing explosives at one and hoping for the best.