Supercomputers offer new tools to test US N-arsenal
Saturday, 05 November 2011 00:55
The significant advance in computer modeling is at the centre of a debate over the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which was approved by the United Nations in 1996 but rejected by the US Senate in 1999. Signed by 182 countries and ratified by 154, the treaty outlaws nuclear explosive testing and sets up a global monitoring system to detect any tests. The treaty needs several key countries, including the US, to ratify it before it can enter into force.
By David E Hoffman
A group of nuclear weapons designers and scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory conducted a what-if experiment several years ago, deploying supercomputers to simulate what happens to a nuclear weapon from the moment it leaves storage to the point when it hits a target.....
