Is it possible to remotely detect a nuclear weapon?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion focuses on the detection of nuclear weapons, exploring both pre-detonation and post-detonation detection methods. Participants consider the challenges associated with detecting different types of nuclear weapons, such as hydrogen bombs versus conventional fission bombs, and the potential for future advancements in detection technology.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants inquire about the methods of detection for nuclear weapons, questioning the differences between pre-detonation and post-detonation detection.
  • One participant notes that detonated weapons are easily detectable due to blast and fallout, while weapons in storage are more challenging to identify, suggesting that espionage may be the most effective method.
  • Another participant mentions that a nuclear detonation would be detectable as a seismic event, but expresses skepticism about the ease of detecting nuclear weapons prior to detonation.
  • There are proposals discussed regarding the use of neutrinos or high-energy photons to detect fissile material, although one participant emphasizes the logistical challenges and potential for false positives, labeling such proposals as currently speculative.
  • Participants mention the use of spies, aerial photography, and satellites as methods for detecting nuclear weapons during their developmental or storage phases.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the feasibility and methods of detecting nuclear weapons, with no consensus reached on the effectiveness of various detection techniques or the future of detection technology.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the dependence on definitions of detection methods, the complexity of proposed technologies, and the unresolved nature of the discussion regarding the effectiveness of current detection strategies.

dimensionless
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If so, how is it detected? Are hydrogen bombs significantly harder to detect than conventional fission bombs? St what distance can it be detected? Will this range be increased in the future?
 
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Are you referring to pre-detonation detection? Or post?

It, um, makes a difference in the numbers.
 
Weapons that are detonated are very easy to detect - blast, fallout, etc. Weapons in storage are much more difficult - spies are probably the best way.
 
An extremely quick and painless google search will give you the answer. Just search nuclear weapon detection or something
 
Pre-detonation. I imagine a detonation would show up as a seismic event, right?

My google search suggests that nuclear weapons are not easily detected.
 
dimensionless said:
Pre-detonation. I imagine a detonation would show up as a seismic event, right?
Well yes. I was thinking more in terms a very rapid rise in temperature into the tens of hundreds of thousands of degrees, and a resulting plasmification of every atom in your body.

Seismic detection would be more ... subtle.
 
Apparently there are proposals to send a beam of neutrinos or high energy photons through the Earth into an outgoing sattelite receiver (or tub for neutrinos) or somesuch to detect concentrated fissile material of a specific type. But obviously the logistics are ridiculously complicated and the false positives would be large.

But at this time, proposals like that are nothing more than science fiction.
 
Spies, aerial photos, and satellites. Obviously for the developmental/storage stages.
 

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