implosion weapon

A weapon in which a quantity of fissionable material, less than a critical mass at ordinary pressure, has its volume suddenly reduced by compression (a step accomplished by using chemical explosives) so that it becomes supercritical, producing a nuclear explosion.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

Translations

arme à implosion

References in periodicals archive

Using less than 8 grams of plutonium, they obtained information useful in assessing how long a plutonium pit, or the core of an implosion weapon, can be kept in a reliable state.

U.S. succeeds in new plutonium tests to check nuke arsenal

The International Institute for Strategic Studies in London estimated that it would take a year for the heavy-water reactor to produce enough plutonium for a single "simple implosion weapon" once it was up and running.

New Iran plant advances nuclear program

Also, implosion weapons are more difficult to build than gun weapons, but they are also more efficient, requiring less fissile material.

SADDAM AND THE WEST'S WORST NIGHTMARE

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