US nuclear ambitions: what is hidden behind powerful X-ray flashes in an underground laboratory?
Underground experiments that could redefine nuclear safety.
Three U.S. national defense laboratories are working to create a test facility thousands of feet underground in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The facility will use powerful X-rays to test the reliability of the country’s nuclear arsenal, according to a press release.
Previously, the US nuclear program depended on actual warhead tests to determine the effectiveness of its arsenal. However, in 1992, President George H. W. Bush signed a law suspending nuclear testing. Since then, the US has relied on computer simulations to estimate its nuclear arsenal of 3,750 warheads.
John Custer, technical manager at Sandia National Laboratories, noted the unique properties of plutonium that cannot be replicated with substitutes. So together with Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, Sandia is working on a $ 1.8 billion project called Scorpius. This project will use X-rays to test for plutonium.
“Scorpius” is designed to generate four pulses with a duration of 80 nanoseconds at a current of 1400 amperes. These pulses will create bright flashes of X-rays that will help produce high-resolution images to compare the data with computer models.
In terms of X-ray power, the electron beam generator developed by SNL is about 46 feet (14 m) long and generates 25,000 volt pulses. While the dentist’s X-ray beam uses electrons with a pulse of 50,000 volts.
Initially, the plans for the Scorpius were supposed to install two cars at right angles to obtain different types of images. However, due to budget constraints, the Scorpius is now just one car. The components are scheduled to start assembling in 2024, and the equipment is expected to be ready only by 2027.
The main task of the machine is to conduct two experiments with plutonium a year for the next 30 years to confirm the reliability of the nuclear arsenal or determine the need to create new warheads for the United States.
