On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 06:34:18 GMT, Charles Gray wrote:

Why would the U.S. wish to increase using nuclear weapons? I think
the decision to start creating new nuke designs is stupid, but in any
case, the U.S. doesn't *need* nukes in most concievable engagements,
and in fact using them would degrade our own effectiveness.

One reason to create new designs is shelf-life concerns about the
current inventory which contains some 20 year old weapons. Creating
longer lasting and more easily maintained weapons could be cost
effective in the long run rather than trying to maintan our current
store of aging weapons.

Scientists are testing an mixture of Plutonium isotopes which decays
16 times faster than normal to see what the long term effects on the
bomb components will be. Tests will be run to simulate the effects of
60 years of aging on current designs to see what, if anything, needs
to be done to keep our current weapons working for another 40 years.

--
"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability
of the human mind to correlate all its contents." - H.P. Lovecraft