Editing Class-D nuclear warhead

According to Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] '''Class-D nuclear warheads''' are kept at [[Ragnar Anchorage]] ([[Miniseries]]).

The exact technical details are not revealed in the series, in keeping with its philosophy of avoiding [[technobabble]]. Probably a Class-D nuclear warhead is an implosion-type fission bomb. Given the small size of the device that [[Gaius Baltar]] deliveres to [[Gina]] ([[Epiphanies]]), the fissile core is extremely small, and the the apparatus which compresses it to supercritical mass is equally compact. The yield of a class D is difficult, if not impossible, to calculate from information seen in the series.<ref>It should be noted that many nuclear bombs, including the American version of a "suitcase nuke", can be configured for different yields ranging from .375 to 1.5 megaton easily ("dial-a-yield").</ref>

== Technical feasibility ==

One explanation for its small size is that a nuclide other than plutonium is used in the fission primary. Aside from the rather unscientific introduction of a "new element", the most logical candidate would be [[w:californium|californium]]. This synthetic element, produced in a cyclotron, exists only in miligram quantities in the real world, but the Colonies might produce much more using advanced -- but plausible -- technology. Cf-251 has a critical mass of around two kilograms, and this could be reduced even further using currently existing techniques. The Class D warhead is advanced technology, but it is in no way physically impossible, nor must it rely on scientific principles unknown in the present day.

The primary drawback of Californium is that the half life is 790 years, meaning that long term storage is problematic. Plutonium has a half life of 24,110 years, and functional 100 pound simple implosion devices have been made with plutonium using existing 20th century technology.

==Notes==
* This article is assuming that the nuclear warhead given to Baltar for his research on the [[Cylon detector]] in "[[Bastille Day]]" and later handed over to Gina are Class D.
* In the United States military, Class-D is the designation of a relatively light-weight Thermonuclear weapon. The W-28 warhead in the [[Wikipedia:B28_nuclear_bomb|B-28 TN bomb]] is an example of this type.

== References ==
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-[[File:TRS - Flesh and Bone - Sharon Valerii and Gaius Baltar in Lab.jpg|thumb|{{Callsign|Boomer}} and [[Gaius Baltar]] in his [[medlab]], with a disassembled warhead appropriated for the [[Cylon detector]] {{TRS|Flesh and Bone}}.]]
+According to Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] '''Class-D nuclear warheads''' are kept at [[Ragnar Anchorage]] ([[Miniseries]]).
-'''Class-D nuclear warheads''' are a type of nuclear weapon used by [[battlestar]]s and their [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]] squadrons.
-After news of the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|Cylon attack]] on the [[Twelve Colonies of Kobol|Twelve Colonies]] and the [[Colonial Fleet (TRS)|Colonial Fleet]], Commander [[William Adama|Adama]] orders a desperate search through Fleet database records for munitions depots to rearm ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'' as its own munitions had been [[List of Deleted Scenes (RDM)#Miniseries|destroyed as part of her scheduled decommissioning]].
+The exact technical details are not revealed in the series, in keeping with its philosophy of avoiding [[technobabble]]. Probably a Class-D nuclear warhead is an implosion-type fission bomb. Given the small size of the device that [[Gaius Baltar]] deliveres to [[Gina]] ([[Epiphanies]]), the fissile core is extremely small, and the the apparatus which compresses it to supercritical mass is equally compact. The yield of a class D is difficult, if not impossible, to calculate from information seen in the series.<ref>It should be noted that many nuclear bombs, including the American version of a "suitcase nuke", can be configured for different yields ranging from .375 to 1.5 megaton easily ("dial-a-yield").</ref>
-Little else is noted about the weapons, except that Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]]'s records indicate that 50 pallets of these warheads are kept at [[Ragnar Anchorage]] along with [[missile tubes|missiles]] and [[small arms]] ammunition {{TRS|Miniseries, Night 1}}.
+== Technical feasibility ==
-== Use of Colonial nuclear weapons ==
+One explanation for its small size is that a nuclide other than plutonium is used in the fission primary. Aside from the rather unscientific introduction of a "new element", the most logical candidate would be [[w:californium|californium]]. This synthetic element, produced in a cyclotron, exists only in miligram quantities in the real world, but the Colonies might produce much more using advanced -- but plausible -- technology. Cf-251 has a critical mass of around two kilograms, and this could be reduced even further using currently existing techniques. The Class D warhead is advanced technology, but it is in no way physically impossible, nor must it rely on scientific principles unknown in the present day.
-Insufficient information exists as to whether the other nuclear warheads seen through the series are also Class-D or of some other type. It is probable, but not verifiable, that ''[[Pegasus (TRS)|Pegasus]]'' gave some of these weapons to ''Galactica'', when the two battlestars pooled their resources.
+The primary drawback of Californium is that the half life is 790 years, meaning that long term storage is problematic. Plutonium has a half life of 24,110 years, and functional 100 pound simple implosion devices have been made with plutonium using existing 20th century technology.
-*One warhead is given to [[Gaius Baltar]] for his [[Cylon detector]] {{TRS|Bastille Day}}, which he later hands over to [[Gina Inviere]] and the [[Demand Peace]] movement. In her depression, Inviere detonates the warhead, destroying ''[[Cloud 9]]'' and several other civilian ships {{TRS|Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II}}.
+==Notes==
-*''Galactica'' herself readies and arms several nuclear missiles in a standoff against a Cylon expedition to the [[algae planet]] and the [[Temple of Five]] {{TRS|The Eye of Jupiter}}.
+* This article is assuming that the nuclear warhead given to Baltar for his research on the [[Cylon detector]] in "[[Bastille Day]]" and later handed over to Gina are Class D.
-*A strike team from ''Pegasus'' takes a nuclear warhead to the [[Guardian basestar]] and subsequently destroys it {{TRS|Razor}}.
+* In the United States military, Class-D is the designation of a relatively light-weight Thermonuclear weapon. The W-28 warhead in the [[Wikipedia:B28_nuclear_bomb|B-28 TN bomb]] is an example of this type.
-==Notes==
+== References ==
-* In the United States military, Class-D is the designation of a relatively light-weight thermonuclear weapon. The W-28 warhead in the [[w:B28 nuclear bomb|B-28 TN bomb]] is an example of this type.
+<div style="font-size:85%"><references/></div>
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+[[Category: RDM]]
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-[[Category: Terminology (TRS)]]
-[[Category: Weapons]]
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-[[de:Klasse-D Sprengkopf]]