Technical Challenges to a Successful Nuclear Strike

From longtime tech correspondent Ralph Vartabedian, at LAT, "North Korea has made a nuclear weapon small enough to fit on a missile. How worried should the world be?":

Before the age of compact cars, laptop computers and pocket telephones, there were miniature nuclear warheads.

For as long as there have been engineers, they have been working on making complicated things smaller and better. Weapons are no exception.

Now, North Korea apparently has figured out how to make a very big explosive small enough to sit atop one of its mobile-launched missiles, a development that could threaten much of the U.S., according to a U.S. intelligence report that surfaced this week.

North Korea is making progress, showing it can put together competent teams of scientists and solve technical problems, but it is far from proving that it is capable of launching a punishing nuclear strike on the U.S., according to U.S. weapons experts.

Making a miniature nuclear weapon that has a large explosive force involves a lot of scientific and engineering know-how.

The “Little Boy” bomb that the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 9, 1945, weighed as much as two 2017 Cadillac Escalade SUVs, about 9,700 pounds. Three days later, the “Fat Man” bomb, slightly heavier at 10,300 pounds, was dropped on Nagasaki.

Since then, the weight of U.S. atomic bombs has shrunk considerably, as scientists have refined the physics of the devices and streamlined how they are armed.

With the last generation of nuclear weapons designed in the 1980s, engineers at Los Alamos National Laboratory produced the W88, weighing only 800 pounds despite having an explosive force equal to 475,000 tons of TNT — in other words, less than one-tenth the weight of the first atomic bomb, but 400 times more powerful.

What technical capability is necessary to build a missile-ready nuclear bomb?

The first step is understanding how to reduce the amount of conventional high explosives that surround a hollow pit of highly enriched uranium or plutonium. A nuclear detonation occurs when the high explosive implodes the hollow sphere of fissile material next to it to start an uncontrolled chain reaction.

After the war, work progressed on smaller bombs. One of the crucial design steps was to create a small, precisely uniform air gap between the conventional explosives and the sphere of nuclear fuel, amplifying the force of the conventional explosion and reducing the amount needed to trigger a nuclear chain reaction.

It’s unclear that Pyongyang has mastered that precise construction, said Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear weapons analyst with the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif.

What Pyongyang has said so far is that its weapon is a “Korean-style mixed charge” device, indicating “they don’t have a lot of plutonium, so they are mixing it with uranium,” Lewis said.

It is possible the North Koreans are also injecting tritium gas into the hollow sphere to get some fusion energy out of the bomb, as well, he said...

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Chris Wickham, The Inheritance of Rome

This looks fantastic!

At Amazon, Chris Wickham, The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages 400-1000.

Glen Campbell, of 'Rhinestone Cowboy' Fame, Dead at 81

At LAT, "Glen Campbell dies at 81; country-pop singer battled Alzheimer's."

Also, "'A shining light in so many ways': Music world remembers country-pop great Glen Campbell":

As news of the death of Glen Campbell spread, celebrities of all kinds took to the Internet to express their grief over the loss of the country music legend, who died Tuesday at 81.

"Had Glen Campbell 'only' played guitar and never voiced a note, he would have spent a lifetime as one of America’s most consequential recording musicians," Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, said in a statement.

"Had he never played guitar and 'only' sung, his voice would rank with American music’s most riveting, expressive, and enduring," Young added. "He left indelible marks as a musician, a singer, and an entertainer, and he bravely shared his incalculable talent with adoring audiences even as he fought a cruel and dread disease. To all of us who heard and loved his soulful music, he was a delight."

Others shared similar sentiments about the singer, songwriter, musician, television host and actor...

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Evelyn Taft's Sunny and Warm Forecast

It's not too bad. You'd have gotten a sunburn yesterday if you failed to lube up with liberally with sunscreen. Just about the same weather today. And with the exception of Lake Elsinore and Palm Springs, it's not quite triple-digit temperatures across the Southland.

I've been just chilling today, getting back into my lazy summer routine after some partying this weekend, through yesterday, for some birthday celebrations. About a couple of more weeks until the new semester starts, and then my summer will really be winding down.

In any case, here's the lovely Ms. Evelyn, for CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Colleen McCullough's 'Masters of Rome' Series

I found a brand new paperback copy of The Grass Crown for 25 cents at the Irvine Public Library. I thought what the heck? I'd procrastinated on picking up any of Colleen McCullough's books, but I'm starting an Ancient Rome jag, and I that one helped me launch it.

But I need to start at the beginning of the series, which is found in The First Man in Rome, so I'll start out with that (maybe today, heh).

The only problem with these books is their length. This one's about 930 pages, not counting a massive glossary!

Beer Beats Tylenol as Pain Reliever

News you can use.

At Instapundit, "THE SCIENCE IS SETTLED: STUDY: BEER IS A BETTER PAIN RELIEVER THAN TYLENOL":

Probably no harder on your liver, either.

The American League Wild Card Race is Getting Insane

Check the standings here.

This is insane.

At Sports on Earth, "SIZING UP THE AL WILD CARD RACE":

There are roughly 50 games left in the Major League Baseball season. Some teams have more, some teams have fewer, but it's pretty much around that number -- and it will go by like that. All you can reasonably hope for, if you are a team that is on the fringes of contention -- particularly with first-place teams owning massive leads like Los Angeles, Houston and Washington -- is to at least have a shot.

This year, plenty of teams still have skin in the game thanks to the American League Wild Card chase, which looks like it's going to be lunacy. From the Wild Card leader (the Yankees) entering Monday's action to the team that's five spots out of the second slot (Minnesota), you have only 5 1/2 games of separation. Texas, a team that just traded away its ace, is closer to a Wild Card spot than the closest Wild Card team in the National League. It is jammed, essentially top to bottom. Keep your eye on these standings!

So let's take a look at every contender, what their chances are and what the stakes are moving forward. We have to cut off the definition of a "contender" at some point, so for the sake of discussion, we'll omit Texas, Toronto and Detroit, all of whom were sellers at the Deadline. We do this even though Texas is only one game behind Minnesota (also sort of a seller, but no matter). It's crazy this year, and we may have to revisit this in a few more weeks if any other teams go on a run. Also, right now, the Red Sox, thanks to a six-game win streak, have opened up a three-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East. That division is far from settled, but for the sake of discussion, we'll include the Yankees but not the Sox. That, like everything else, could change quickly.

Here's the analysis for the Angels, who just can't seem to earn winning consistency. It's maddening!

Los Angeles Angels Record: 55-58, fourth Wild Card runnerup, three games out of second Wild Card spot.

Playoff projections on MLB.com: 9.8 percent.

What's at stake: The last few years of the best player in baseball. The Angels have been trying to cobble together a mediocre team around Mike Trout for a few years now, with no luck. This year has been different in that Trout missed two months and the Angels somehow treaded water. (Andrelton Simmons is quietly having a superstar season -- he's third in the AL in FanGraphs WAR -- which helps.) But the odds are still stacked against them. It would help to get something, anything, out of Albert Pujols. There are 514 American League position players who have enough at-bats to register a WAR rating this season. Pujols is ranked 513th in WAR.

Fans' reasonable optimism level: Realistic. Three more years of Trout left. They are a little closer to the playoffs than they were last year. But that feels like the fighting of gravity.

 Angels play the Orioles tonight, and could move past them with a win. So, root for the rally monkey, heh.

Peter S. Wells, The Battle That Stopped Rome

Here's another on Teutoburg.

From Peter S. Wells, at Amazon, The Battle That Stopped Rome: Emperor Augustus, Arminius, and the Slaughter of the Legions in the Teutoburg Forest.

Disneyland

Here's your humble blogger, yesterday at Disneyland, for my young son's 16th b-day.

A good time was had by all.

Adrian Murdoch, Rome's Greatest Defeat

Reading I, Claudius has gotten me fascinated with Rome's wars with Germania, especially the crushing defeat at Teutoburg.

See, at Amazon, Adrian Murdoch, Rome's Greatest Defeat: Massacre in the Teutoburg Forest.

Disneyland Today

We're celebrating my youngest son's birthday.

I can't remember the last time we went to Disneyland. Weird. I lived for that place when I was a grade-schooler.

In any case, don't know what time we'll be home, and I'll probably be beat anyway. Head over to Instapundit for your blogging and news, the only "principled conservative view at this point." (?)

Is there even a principled conservative view at this point? Who should I be reading?

— Lauren Duca (@laurenduca) August 5, 2017

J. Samuel Walker, Prompt and Utter Destruction

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, J. Samuel Walker, Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs Against Japan.

Google Fires James Damore, Engineer Who Wrote 'Anti-Diversity' Memo

Well, you can't have a different opinion about such things. The guy should've known that, of course.

At Bloomberg, "Google Fires Author of Divisive Memo on Gender Differences" (at Memeorandum).

Also at Breitbart, "Google Fires Viewpoint Diversity Manifesto Author James Damore."

PREVIOUSLY: "Google Manifesto."

ADDED: Oh, the drama, at LAT, "Google employee's sexist manifesto is the latest crisis for a tech industry struggling to diversify."

Howard Fast, Spartacus

I've been puttering around all day at used bookstores, and sometimes you find the most serendipitous things.

As noted, I'm plugging along on I, Claudius, which has been a good read, and which has piqued my already not insubstantial interest in Roman history. And while there are many good scholarly works, apparently there's a wealth of really high-quality fiction on Rome as well, many tomes of which come highly recommended by experts of antiquity.

Now, I don't know if Howard Fast qualifies as one of the great novelists of the genre, although reading around and browsing online, I've come across mention of the book, so I was startled to see a cheap copy in excellent condition while out today on my lackadaisical rounds.

There's some used copies available on Amazon as well, if you're so inclined. See, Howard Fast, Spartacus.

And here's another edition, Spartacus (North Castle Books). (Click through for a used edition, as they're so much more affordable.)

In any case, books are my hobby right now. I always read a lot anyway, but since I don't watch news anymore, I've got even more time for it. And thanks for shopping through my Amazon links, as well. It's not a very expensive hobby, but your purchases are helpful in any event. So, thanks again.

Protecting Rhinos in South Africa

This is genuinely sad.

This piece wants to turn you into a nature-protector-enviro-radical, at LAT, "Armed only with her grandmother's shotgun, a South African woman fights to save her rhinos":

Lynne MacTavish lives in a small wooden house on her South African game reserve with a fierce pet emu, a juvenile ostrich, a flock of geese, two Jack Russell terriers and her grandma’s double-barreled shotgun to protect her rhinos.

She keeps an ugly statue at her gate: a tokoloshe, or evil spirit in the local traditional belief, installed by a witch doctor to ward off superstitious rhino poachers.

Every night MacTavish gets up after midnight, grabs her shotgun, clambers into her SUV and patrols for poachers.

She still gets flashbacks of the scene she found one windy October morning in 2014 and still cries telling the story. Poachers had killed two rhinos, including a pregnant cow she had known since the day it was born. Two more died as an indirect result of the attack and a calf, days from being born, was lost.

MacTavish, as tough as the spiky bush on her animal reserve in South Africa’s northwest, struggles to cover the cost of security guards. One local poacher has threatened to kill her.

South Africa is home to 80% of the world’s 25,000 rhinos. Hamstrung by corruption and security lapses, it loses three rhinos a day to poaching, 85% of them in state reserves. Private owners such as MacTavish have become important to the species’ survival, nurturing more than 6,500 rhinos on an estimated 330 private game reserves, spanning 5 million acres, that provide a relative degree of safety.

But security is costly — so much so that many reserves are closing their doors. To help generate revenue, private reserve operators have successfully sued to resume South Africa’s limited trade in rhino horns, which had been banned since 2009. The government is finalizing new regulations that will allow foreigners to export up to two horns apiece for personal use.

The measure has rocked the wildlife preservation world. Most wildlife advocates say opening the door even to “farmed” rhino horn sales could threaten an international effort to wipe out the trade across the globe. About 2,200 horns a year flow into the illegal trade, mostly poached, and opponents of the new trade rules argue that criminals will find ways to funnel poached horns into the new legal market.

“Reopening a domestic trade in rhino horn in South Africa would make it even harder for already overstretched law enforcement agents to tackle rhino crimes,” World Wildlife Fund policy manager Colman O’Criodain said in a statement...

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Kate Upton in Cairns, Australia (VIDEO)

Actually, this one's a movie length feature, dang.

At Sports Illustrated:

'As I’m writing this, Etiene Dalcol has protected her Twitter account...'

She sure did.

From Stephen Green, at Instapundit, "SHUT UP, SHE EXPLAINED."

She's a magenta-haired feminist web-programmer, or something, lol.

William R. Keylor, The Twentieth-Century World and Beyond

The best book of international political history.

At Amazon, William R. Keylor, The Twentieth-Century World and Beyond: An International History since 1900.

Lawrence James, Empires in the Sun

At Amazon, Empires in the Sun: The Struggle for the Mastery of Africa.

Tim Butcher, Blood River

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, Tim Butcher, Blood River: The Terrifying Journey Through The World's Most Dangerous Country.