Does Halo's NOVA bomb have any truth to it whatsoever?

[Hypercube]

I just finished reading the novels for the Halo franchise a little while ago and I was very intrigued about one of the weapons that the humans have developed. They called it the NOVA bomb, and while we aren't told very much about it, it is basically a cluster of fusion warheads encased in some sort of fictional super-strong material that is able to temporarily contain the nuclear explosions, supposedly increasing its thermonuclear yield a hundredfold. Though I can't for the life of me understand how this would have any effect whatsoever on the power of the bomb. All we really know about its properties and effects comes from the following quote:

 

"This is the prototype NOVA bomb, nine fusion warheads encased in lithium triteride armor. When detonated, it compresses its fissionable material to neutron-star density, boosting the thermonuclear yield a hundredfold. I am Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb, temporarily in command of the UNSC military base Reach. To the Covenant uglies that might be listening, you have a few seconds to pray to your damned heathen gods. You all have a nice day in hell..." A heartbeat later Vice Admiral Whitcomb's ploy of slipping the UNSC prototype Nova bomb into Covenant supplies had finally paid off: a star ignited between Joyous Exultation and its moon. Every ship not protected on the dark side of the planet boiled and vaporized in an instant. The atmosphere of the planet wavered as helical spirals of luminescent particles lit both north and south poles, making curtains of blue and green ripple over the globe. As the thermonuclear pressure wave spread and butted against the thermosphere, it heated the air orange, compressed it, until it touched the ground and scorched a quarter of the world. The tiny nearby moon Malhiem cracked and shattered into a billion rocky fragments and clouds of dust. The overpressure force subsided, and three-hundred-kilometer-per-hour winds swept over Joyous Exultation, obliterating cities and whipping tidal waves over its coastlines.

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I'm assuming the idea is that by temporarily containing the initial nine nuclear explosions, all the energy of the combined explosions is released all at the same instant when they finally break free of the armor, as opposed to over the course of several seconds as is the case for normal nuclear warheads. But anyway, given the information provided about this fictional weapon, does anyone know whether there is any truth at all to this idea, ASSUMING that there was some kind of material durable enough to temporarily contain a series of nuclear explosions, which obviously there isn't, but just assume that there was. Or is it just pure nonsense?

[questionposter]

I just finished reading the novels for the Halo franchise a little while ago and I was very intrigued about one of the weapons that the humans have developed. They called it the NOVA bomb, and while we aren't told very much about it, it is basically a cluster of fusion warheads encased in some sort of fictional super-strong material that is able to temporarily contain the nuclear explosions, supposedly increasing its thermonuclear yield a hundredfold. Though I can't for the life of me understand how this would have any effect whatsoever on the power of the bomb. All we really know about its properties and effects comes from the following quote:

 

"This is the prototype NOVA bomb, nine fusion warheads encased in lithium triteride armor. When detonated, it compresses its fissionable material to neutron-star density, boosting the thermonuclear yield a hundredfold. I am Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb, temporarily in command of the UNSC military base Reach. To the Covenant uglies that might be listening, you have a few seconds to pray to your damned heathen gods. You all have a nice day in hell..." A heartbeat later Vice Admiral Whitcomb's ploy of slipping the UNSC prototype Nova bomb into Covenant supplies had finally paid off: a star ignited between Joyous Exultation and its moon. Every ship not protected on the dark side of the planet boiled and vaporized in an instant. The atmosphere of the planet wavered as helical spirals of luminescent particles lit both north and south poles, making curtains of blue and green ripple over the globe. As the thermonuclear pressure wave spread and butted against the thermosphere, it heated the air orange, compressed it, until it touched the ground and scorched a quarter of the world. The tiny nearby moon Malhiem cracked and shattered into a billion rocky fragments and clouds of dust. The overpressure force subsided, and three-hundred-kilometer-per-hour winds swept over Joyous Exultation, obliterating cities and whipping tidal waves over its coastlines.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I'm assuming the idea is that by temporarily containing the initial nine nuclear explosions, all the energy of the combined explosions is released all at the same instant when they finally break free of the armor, as opposed to over the course of several seconds as is the case for normal nuclear warheads. But anyway, given the information provided about this fictional weapon, does anyone know whether there is any truth at all to this idea, ASSUMING that there was some kind of material durable enough to temporarily contain a series of nuclear explosions, which obviously there isn't, but just assume that there was. Or is it just pure nonsense?

 

There's often questions about sci-fi stuff. But if you had some kind of casing, wouldn't the energy just radiate through that if the explosions happened pre-hand? Why not just detonate all of it at the same time without the casing? If you had a material that like, broke thermal dynamics and was incapable of absorbing thermal energy, then you could store all that energy inside it without losing any of it, otherwise even if it doesn't deteriorate from the over 5000 degrees of heat, energy will still transfer through it to the outside, not only that but maybe some gamma rays would escape as gamma rays are very small.

I had a separate topic at one point for using degenerate matter to store massive amounts of energy, but so far the research is inconclusive and you might need to constantly expend energy to keep matter in a degenerate state.

In short, it's improbable a bomb like that could be made. Usually sci-fi stories create an idea first, usually games don't spend a bunch of money to hire a scientist just to create futuristic bomb.

Edited May 9, 2012 by questionposter

[John Cuthber]

Questionposter.

The issue of "Why not just detonate all of it at the same time without the casing? " is easier said than done. Nukes need very good timing mechanisms already. If one were late by a few tens of nanoseconds it would get smashed before it could detonate.

On the other hand, they do put containers round bombs to increase the yield. They don't rely on the strength of the material- just the mass. If the case is heavy it will take some time to push the case apart. During that time the nuclear reaction can continue. The yield is improved that way.

The practical problem of finding something strong enough is another matter- but it's fiction so nobody cares.

[Hypercube]

Questionposter.

The issue of "Why not just detonate all of it at the same time without the casing? " is easier said than done. Nukes need very good timing mechanisms already. If one were late by a few tens of nanoseconds it would get smashed before it could detonate.

 

 

I haven't studied nuclear weapons in any great detail, so if what I'm about to ask seems stupid, just keep that in mind. What difference would it make whether one bomb detonated before the others? Even if the idea of one nuke setting off other nukes in the vicinity is pure Hollywood (and I do know that much), wouldn't the fact that in the fictional weapon I described, all of the nine individual nukes that make it up are within extremely close proximity (presumably within several feet of one another, if that) of each other render that point moot? Since it was my understanding that the size, and by extension the yield, of a nuclear device is determined by the mass of Plutonium that is used. So wouldn't the Plutonium of the other 8 nukes simply contribute to the chain reaction just the same as if they had all detonated, especially considering that in this fictional NOVA bomb, the nine nukes are temporarily contained in some sort of superstrong material?

[questionposter]

Questionposter.

The issue of "Why not just detonate all of it at the same time without the casing? " is easier said than done. Nukes need very good timing mechanisms already. If one were late by a few tens of nanoseconds it would get smashed before it could detonate.

On the other hand, they do put containers round bombs to increase the yield. They don't rely on the strength of the material- just the mass. If the case is heavy it will take some time to push the case apart. During that time the nuclear reaction can continue. The yield is improved that way.

The practical problem of finding something strong enough is another matter- but it's fiction so nobody cares.

 

The reaction of a nuclear bomb is what breaks the casing though, and it's not some kind of imaginably strong material like in this video game, it's designed to evaporate in those high of temperatures.

Edited May 10, 2012 by questionposter

[John Cuthber]

I haven't studied nuclear weapons in any great detail, so if what I'm about to ask seems stupid, just keep that in mind. What difference would it make whether one bomb detonated before the others? Even if the idea of one nuke setting off other nukes in the vicinity is pure Hollywood (and I do know that much), wouldn't the fact that in the fictional weapon I described, all of the nine individual nukes that make it up are within extremely close proximity (presumably within several feet of one another, if that) of each other render that point moot? Since it was my understanding that the size, and by extension the yield, of a nuclear device is determined by the mass of Plutonium that is used. So wouldn't the Plutonium of the other 8 nukes simply contribute to the chain reaction just the same as if they had all detonated, especially considering that in this fictional NOVA bomb, the nine nukes are temporarily contained in some sort of superstrong material?

 

The impact of a nuke depends not so much on how much plutonium you put in, but how much of it undergoes fission and thus releases energy.

The only way it will explode is if it's all in close proximity to the other bits. Once it gets blown apart the reaction stops.

So, one nuke going off next to a bunch of others wouldn't set them off- it would just make a mess.

 

Questionposter, at 100,000,000 degrees (give or take a few zeros) you don't have to design something to evaporate: you don't have any choice in the matter.

The casing is designed to be heavy (and also to back-scatter neutrons).

If you had an enormously strong casing, it would increase the yield. In reality, you can't. In fiction you can, and nobody minds.

[questionposter]

If you had an enormously strong casing, it would increase the yield. In reality, you can't. In fiction you can, and nobody minds.

 

I suppose if I consider that the reaction happens over time, then that type of casing would help, but I was thinking it was more or less an instant process in which case it wouldn't really help. Theoretically, if you could store that much energy over time, the energy it would release in one instant would have a greater concentration than just using a bunch of nukes one at a time, but I always thought the fission reaction was rather quick.

Edited May 10, 2012 by questionposter

[Hypercube]

Incidentally, does anyone know whether Lithium triteride is a real substance? I mean, obviously the strength ascribed to the metal it in the book is total bunk, as I know perfectly well that the part about the NOVA bomb temporarily containing nine thermonuclear explosions is speculative to the point of absolute lunacy. But does the chemical ion 'triteride' actually exist? I looked it up on Google and it was inconclusive.

[insane_alien]

Incidentally, does anyone know whether Lithium triteride is a real substance? I mean, obviously the strength ascribed to the metal it in the book is total bunk, as I know perfectly well that the part about the NOVA bomb temporarily containing nine thermonuclear explosions is speculative to the point of absolute lunacy. But does the chemical ion 'triteride' actually exist? I looked it up on Google and it was inconclusive.

 

yes, it would be lithium hydride with the tritium isotope of hydrogen.

 

Incidentally, Lithium Deuteride (Lithium Hydride with the Deuterium isotope of hydrogen) is used as nuclear fusion fuel in thermonuclear bombs.

[mindless]

The NOVA would not work as a result of the casing (as pointed out by previous posters). Using nuclear bombs to compress a large amount of plutonium into a bomb might work (chemical explosives are used at present). The best way to make a lethal nuclear bomb is to enclose it in a thick cobalt casing so that it creates vast amounts of lethal cobalt isotopes. This was called the "cobalt bomb" and I think it is banned by convention - it would wipe us all out.

[DanforthWhitcomb]

Considering the amount of empty space in a typical substance, and the complete lack of it in a neutron star density substance, I imagine all that extra mass and energy would be pretty eager to escape even if it weren't already in a spicy fusion reaction

[John Cuthber]

On 5/11/2012 at 6:08 PM, insane_alien said:

yes, it would be lithium hydride with the tritium isotope of hydrogen.

(better late than never)

That would be lithium tritide.

Lithium triteride is a made up stuff

[Nuclear_Poster]

Even though this was years ago, it is interesting so I wanted to take a stab at it. My interpretation, and the most “science” way, it would be designed would be a 3 stage thermonuclear bomb.

The (very) basics of how thermonuclear bombs work. A first stage (primary) fission bomb, a core of plutonium-239 or uranium-235 surrounded by a heavy metal tamper, is compressed through high explosives. Core reaches critical mass and fissions (started by a precisely timed neutron emitter).

As the primary fissions, it releases a massive amount of x-rays. These x-rays fill the space (radiation channel) between the primary and the secondary, which is a sphere or cylinder of a heavy metal tamper filled with hydrogen fuel (lithium deuteride) and a spark plug of U-235 or P-239 in the center. The outer weapons case, also a heavy metal, absorbs and reemits the x-rays. The weapons are designed so that the x-rays hit the secondary equally all around it, which causes it to compress, much like the high explosives did to the primary but with much more force. This causes the sparkplug to fission and bombards the hydrogen fuel, compressed between the expanding sparkplug and the compressing tamper, with neutrons, causing it to fusion (which is actually a complex series of fusions and fissions of lithium deuteride, where the lithium fissions from being hit by a neutron, creating helium, tritium, and energy. The created tritium then fusions with the deuterium, producing helium, a neutron, and energy, with the escaping neutron fissioning another lithium. Repeat).

These things happen very fast. All chain reactions happen in 0.0000005 seconds (half a microsecond), but 99.9% of the energy released comes from the last 7 out of 50-55 successive fission generations, which is about 0.00000007 seconds (0.07 microseconds). Being able to hold the compressed stage together infinitesimally longer will up the yield considerably. That is one of the reasons for the thick heavy metal tampers.

Finally, the secondary tamper and outer casing can add to the yield. If they are made from U-238, they will be induced to fission by the high-energy neutrons produced by the deuterium-tritium fusion reactions. About 50% of tested nuclear weapons final yield comes from this but it adds and insane amount of fallout. The Tsar Bomba was tested with the “clean” version, which replaced the U-238 with lead and had a yield of 50 megatons. The Soviets decided not to test the 100 megaton dirty version because it would have covered a significant portion of the Soviet Union if radioactive fallout. You can up the yield even more (possibly as much as 70% of total yield) by replacing U-238 with U-235 (the same as is used in the core of the primary).

The NOVA bomb is “nine fusion warheads encased in lithium triteride armor. When detonated, it compresses its fissionable material to neutron-star density, boosting the thermonuclear yield a hundredfold”. A fusion bomb is really a two stage thermonuclear bomb, where a fission primary is used to compress a mix of fusion/fission fuel enough to get largescale fusion. And we know that in modern weapons, as much as 70% of total yield can come from the final fission of U-235 tampers/case just by fusion neutron release (without compression).

So, I would arrange 9 two-stage thermonuclear weapons around a massive central “fusion” third-stage of U-235 and lithium deuteride. All 9 primaries would go off simultaneously (within a few billionths of a second), compressing and fusioning all 9 secondaries and simultaneously opening a radiation channel from each to the tertiary stage. Not only would the absolutely massive pressure be able to compress an absolutely massive tertiary, but neutron release would further fission everything as the weapon disassembled. If we were using 25 megaton secondaries, that is 225 megatons, meaning we could probably have a 250-300 megaton tertiary and a yield of over half a gigaton.

Ok. Now we can get into the fiction. The “lithium triteride armor” could be a fusionable case material made of lithium and tritium, like the fusion fuel lithium deuteride is made of lithium and deuterium. Maybe it is ultra-dense, ultra-strong, and fusions, which would boost each stage of this fictional weapon.