Letter (Astounding, July 1948): Sorry—LiH Is an Atomic Explosive. The Cockroft-Walton Experiment Shows That 150,000 Volt Protons Cause Li to Fission Just as Thermal Neutrons Fission U-235. The Energy Yield Is About 2.5 Times That of U-235, Pound for Pound. But It takes U-235 to Excite LiH Sufficiently to Set It Off—Just As It Takes a Violent Primer Like Tetryl to Set Off Ammonium Nitrate. The Low Energy Efficiency of the Lab Experiment with Li and H Results from Small Percentage of Successful Hits. If the Li and H Are Raised to Such a Temperature That the Average Thermal Energy Equals the Necessary Bombardment Energy, the Reaction Becomes Efficient.
| First published | July 1948 |
|---|---|
| Type | Essay |
Publications (1)
| Date | Publication | Publisher | Type | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1948 | Astounding Science Fiction, July 1948 | Street & Smith Publications, Inc. | MAGAZINE | 156 |