The US will lose WW3

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > C-SPAM > The US will lose WW3

mawarannahr: May 21, 2019

seems extremely unlikely that Man and Nature would perfectly align so that a round number like 10 kg would be the official number where it blows up.

# ? Jul 19, 2022 23:44

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# ? May 23, 2024 12:38

Frosted Flake: Sep 13, 2011; Semper Shitpost Ubique

KomradeX posted:

Wasn't that cause the Sherman DD had that big canvas skirt up around it so it would just catch and fill with sea water?

Yes, and the weather on the American beaches was worse than expected, coupled with someone - it�s unclear who - ordering them to launch prematurely while too far off the beach. I forget if the landing craft were USN, USCG or RN, and it may have been an Army commander who told them to go early.

# ? Jul 20, 2022 00:00

KomradeX: Oct 29, 2011

Frosted Flake posted:

Yes, and the weather on the American beaches was worse than expected, coupled with someone - it’s unclear who - ordering them to launch prematurely while too far off the beach. I forget if the landing craft were USN, USCG or RN, and it may have been an Army commander who told them to go early.

I remember American landing craft were piloted by the Coast Guard

# ? Jul 20, 2022 00:04

Filthy Hans: Jun 27, 2008; by Fluffdaddy
(and can't post for 10 years!)

Morbus posted:

No you just put like 2 grams of tritium-deuterium gas right inside the fission core. As soon as your fission assembly begins to go critical (even at the poo poo-tier fizzle stage), it generates more than enough heat to cause a decent number of fusion reactions in the boost gas. This produces a large number of energetic neutrons, which "help along" the fission reactor much faster than would occur if it were limited to the neutrons produced only by its own fission. As the fissioning continues, more heat, more fusion, more neutrons, and so on. So a small amount of tritium (deuterium doesn't count since its so cheap) greatly increases the efficiency of the fission bomb, and also simplifies its design in many ways

this just sounds like "nutted... but she still suckin'" to me

# ? Jul 20, 2022 00:15

Morbus: May 18, 2004

mawarannahr posted:

seems extremely unlikely that Man and Nature would perfectly align so that a round number like 10 kg would be the official number where it blows up.

also seems extremely unlikely there would happen to be exactly one isotope that can support a fission chain reaction while also being stable enough to persist in earth's crust but here we are.

# ? Jul 20, 2022 00:17

atelier morgan: Mar 11, 2003; super-scientific, ultra-gay; Lipstick Apathy

mawarannahr posted:

seems extremely unlikely that Man and Nature would perfectly align so that a round number like 10 kg would be the official number where it blows up.

that was just the reference value on a chart, the actual numbers vary depending on which dataset you use to calculate it

it was accurate to within an order of magnitude which was sufficient for my point lmao

# ? Jul 20, 2022 00:28

mawarannahr: May 21, 2019

atelier morgan posted:

that was just the reference value on a chart, the actual numbers vary depending on which dataset you use to calculate it

it was accurate to within an order of magnitude which was sufficient for my point lmao

sounds like a trustworthy source!

quote:

This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product or process disclosed,

# ? Jul 20, 2022 00:41

atelier morgan: Mar 11, 2003; super-scientific, ultra-gay; Lipstick Apathy

plutonium 239 literally only exists (beyond trace amounts) when it is intentionally created in a reactor for use in nuclear weapons so like, yeah

where else are you going to get any figures about it lmao

i'm sure those figures are intentionally inaccurate enough to impede someone else's nuclear program, but they're probably accurate to within an order of magnitude

# ? Jul 20, 2022 00:47

Bar Ran Dun: Jan 22, 2006

KomradeX posted:

I remember American landing craft were piloted by the Coast Guard

not exclusively.

# ? Jul 20, 2022 01:03

Morbus: May 18, 2004

There is reasonably good data about things like fission, scattering, and absorption cross sections for Pu-239, since those are important for nuclear reactor design and control, and the data isn't hard to obtain experimentally or theoretically.

A lot of things can be arrived at theoretically with very good accuracy, or will be very similar to uranium. Opacity data at extremely high temperatures, or basically any equation of state data in the ultra high pressure / high temperature regime, tends to be classified and hard to get at. Probably the only secret information that is relevant to calculating the critical mass are some peculiarities about solid state phase transitions in plutonium and Pu-Ga alloys at high pressures. And that stuff isn't really important unless you are trying to really minimize your implosion system. Also, it can probably be computed theoretically with pretty good accuracy.

Fission bombs aren't very complicated and there are no important secrets left. Hard part is really just getting the material, and even then only because it's so capital, labor, and energy intensive.

# ? Jul 20, 2022 01:18

Filthy Hans: Jun 27, 2008; by Fluffdaddy
(and can't post for 10 years!)

RealityWarCriminal posted:

https://mobile.twitter.com/ginabella/status/1549544308608585728

# ? Jul 20, 2022 01:55

Rutibex: Sep 9, 2001; by Fluffdaddy

Morbus posted:

Also if I were in charge of Iran's nuclear weapons program, I would:

1.) Clandestinely develop a robust, tritium boosted implosion system designed for ~1.5-3.0 kg of reactor grade plutonium. "Weapons grade" plutonium isn't needed and doesn't significantly change the critical mass requirements, it's just that reactor grade plutonium has some heat dissipation, radiation, and background neutron issues. These are all irrelevant in a small, boosted weapon, though. This system could be tested without any fissile material to the point of being assured of its reliability. The needed amounts of reactor grade plutonium for several bombs could be recovered by small-scale and difficult to detect chemical reprocessing of small amount of reactor fuel over the course of a decade or so.

2.) Use the above in a conservatively designed 2-stage pseudo Teller-Ulam (really just "Ulam") design where on the order of 10 kg of moderately enriched uranium are compressed by the trigger in #1, possibly with tritium boosting in the secondary as well. The compression achieved by even a lovely radiation implosion device would be more than enough to fission the enriched (but not weapons grade) uranium, and such a two step weapon would be much easier to design than an actual thermonuclear bomb while easily achieving yields in the 20-100 kT range. All the major difficulties of a thermonuclear design (reaching the required pressures in the fussion fuel without excessive pre-heating, achieving ignition in the compressed secondary, optimal size and composition of the high-Z radiation tamper...) are eliminated and even the dumbest, ultra-conservative design will easily achieve sufficient compression to fission the enriched uranium.

The above would be a very effective demonstrator weapon, could be practically deliverable, and could make use of small amounts of clandestinely produced reactor grade Pu and large amounts of enriched but not weapons grade uranium. It would also be a convenient test platform and starting point for a thermonuclear weapon.

Anyway that's my ted talk

goons in this thread looking to get assassinated by Israel

# ? Jul 20, 2022 03:26

mawarannahr: May 21, 2019

it would make a lot more sense, humanistically, to redefine the meter to be based on the atomic bomb instead of the path travelled by light in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 seconds, which is a bit of a ridiculous number.

# ? Jul 20, 2022 03:30

500excf type r: Mar 7, 2013; I'm as annoying as the high-pitched whine of my motorcycle, desperately compensating for the lack of substance in my life.

mawarannahr posted:

it would make a lot more sense, humanistically, to redefine the meter to be based on the atomic bomb instead of the path travelled by light in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 seconds, which is a bit of a ridiculous number.

Make it penis based and call it a meat-er

# ? Jul 20, 2022 11:10

Goast: Jul 23, 2011; by VideoGames

KomradeX posted:

I remember American landing craft were piloted by the Coast Guard

they pulled a surprising amount of coast guard in for naval invasions because the navy didn't have enough coxswains to run their small boats

# ? Jul 20, 2022 13:40

Danann: Aug 4, 2013

https://twitter.com/cpimentel986/status/1549871211051728904

new jet fighters for argentina, maybe they'll be able to wrest las malvinas from the anglos

# ? Jul 20, 2022 23:26

BrutalistMcDonalds: Oct 4, 2012; Lipstick Apathy

good fighters for the price, like F-16s

# ? Jul 20, 2022 23:29

skooma512: Feb 8, 2012; You couldn't grok my race car, but you dug the roadside blur.

mawarannahr posted:

seems extremely unlikely that Man and Nature would perfectly align so that a round number like 10 kg would be the official number where it blows up.

The numbers are almost certainly fudged so that states the West doesn't control can't easily start making them.

I'm sure they have designs for smaller, if only because they have supercomputer time to throw at it.

# ? Jul 20, 2022 23:37

Filthy Hans: Jun 27, 2008; by Fluffdaddy
(and can't post for 10 years!)

what ever happened to the Super Tucano program, are we still selling those to South American puppet states

# ? Jul 20, 2022 23:46

GrunkleStalin: Aug 13, 2021

Danann posted:

https://twitter.com/cpimentel986/status/1549871211051728904

new jet fighters for argentina, maybe they'll be able to wrest las malvinas from the anglos

What are the current odds on coup vs bombing?

# ? Jul 20, 2022 23:58

Bar Ran Dun: Jan 22, 2006

Goast posted:

they pulled a surprising amount of coast guard in for naval invasions because the navy didn't have enough coxswains to run their small boats

the army trained landing craft operators too.

# ? Jul 21, 2022 00:21

Goast: Jul 23, 2011; by VideoGames

Bar Ran Dun posted:

the army trained landing craft operators too.

being an army boat guy is probably the funniest job

# ? Jul 21, 2022 09:52

Weka: May 5, 2019; Can't post for 15 hours!

Looking forward to indigi nuking their neighbors duplex.

# ? Jul 21, 2022 12:27

Danann: Aug 4, 2013

https://twitter.com/lylegoldstein/status/1549192984331276289

chinese tactical jet skis :hmmyes:

# ? Jul 22, 2022 02:59

Real hurthling!: Sep 11, 2001

Danann posted:

https://twitter.com/lylegoldstein/status/1549192984331276289

chinese tactical jet skis

do they have jetski sized hovercraft yet? that would own. unstoppable.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 03:06

The Atomic Man-Boy: Jul 23, 2007

Danann posted:

chinese tactical jet skis

Fun!

# ? Jul 22, 2022 22:34

JAY ZERO SUM GAME: Oct 18, 2005; Walter.
I know you know how to do this.
Get up.

jet ski gap

# ? Jul 23, 2022 00:24

Palladium: May 8, 2012; Very Good
✔️✔️✔️✔️

Danann posted:

chinese tactical jet skis

probably cost less than an american arty shell, too

# ? Jul 23, 2022 03:25

500excf type r: Mar 7, 2013; I'm as annoying as the high-pitched whine of my motorcycle, desperately compensating for the lack of substance in my life.

Goast posted:

being an army boat guy is probably the funniest job

Lol if you think the loving marines conducted the largest contested beachhead landing

Just.lol

# ? Jul 23, 2022 04:06

Wheeee: Mar 11, 2001; When a tree grows, it is soft and pliable. But when it's dry and hard, it dies.

Hardness and strength are death's companions. Flexibility and softness are the embodiment of life.

That which has become hard shall not triumph.

from what ive read of troop behaviour in iraq and afghanistan the marines are basically marauding orks

# ? Jul 23, 2022 04:40

Wheeee: Mar 11, 2001; When a tree grows, it is soft and pliable. But when it's dry and hard, it dies.

Hardness and strength are death's companions. Flexibility and softness are the embodiment of life.

That which has become hard shall not triumph.

you enlist in the army for the free school

you enlist in the marines to get to kill people

# ? Jul 23, 2022 04:41

indigi: Jul 20, 2004; ^{how can we not talk about family

when family's all that we got?}

Weka posted:

Looking forward to indigi nuking their neighbors duplex.

listen they don�t consolidate their cardboard recycling efficiently and it keeps blowing onto my lawn

# ? Jul 23, 2022 06:21

Filthy Hans: Jun 27, 2008; by Fluffdaddy
(and can't post for 10 years!)

Wheeee posted:

you enlist in the army for the free school

you enlist in the marines to get to kill people

My sister was in the navy and she was a pretty good shot, got expert marksman with rifle and pistol but on the day she was supposed to qualify for the M60 the range in Bahrain was shut down. A few marines had decided to turn their guns on some camels off to the side of the range. An investigation was ensuing because this was a recurring problem; typically the US would pay out several hundred thousand per trained camel in settlements. Those marines might have ended up spending a year in the brig followed by a discharge but that was just the rumored punishment. My sister never had another try to qualify for the M60.

# ? Jul 23, 2022 06:58

indigi: Jul 20, 2004; ^{how can we not talk about family

when family's all that we got?}

Filthy Hans posted:

My sister never had another try to qualify for the M60.

good

# ? Jul 23, 2022 07:00

Danann: Aug 4, 2013

https://nypost.com/2022/07/20/citing-recruiting-woes-army-will-shed-up-to-28000-troops-by-2023/

quote:

nypost.com
Citing recruiting woes, Army will be short up to 28,000 troops by 2023
Military Times
5-6 minutes

In a stunning admission to a House Armed Services Committee panel Tuesday, the Army�s number two officer acknowledged that the service will likely be understrength by at least 7,000 soldiers when the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.

Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Joseph Martin also confirmed that the Army notified a House military personnel panel that it expects to have between 445,000 and 452,000 soldiers at the end of fiscal 2023, a 28,000-soldier drop from the original end strength the Army projected for 2023.

Martin�s spokesperson, Lt. Col. Loni Ayers, provided an emailed statement to Army Times clarifying that Martin �stated the estimated end strength for FY22 is 466.4K. Our estimated end strength for FY23 is between 445-452K.�

Martin�s admission indicates a significant shortfall of soldiers from the Army�s target end strength of 473,000, plus an even steeper drop-off for the following year, which was originally programmed for 476,000 troops.

But even those numbers belie the enormity of the recruiting crisis the Army faces � the service began the fiscal year with an end strength target of 485,000, but slashed it by 12,000 (and recruiting goals by 15,000) in April when it realized it wouldn�t make those numbers.
soldiers
The US Army is predicting it will have 28,000 fewer soldiers than it anticipated by the end of 2023.
Getty Images/iStockphoto

In response to Martin�s statement, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) said she wants the committee to hold a hearing that would delve into the Army�s �alarming� end strength scramble and work on potential solutions to the issue.
What went wrong

Army Times published an investigation Monday that explained the roots of the looming end strength shortfall, the service�s efforts to address it and what long-term efforts it might take to fill the ranks.

Retention numbers remain near record highs � more than 57,000 troops re-enlisted as of July 7, against an annual goal of around 54,000 � but the Army�s recruiting failures have proven too much to overcome.

The reasons contributing to plunging recruitment are complex, including more detailed medical screenings, a shrinking proportion of Americans eligible to serve, poor marketing practices, low civilian unemployment and more.
US Army
More detailed medical screenings and low civilian unemployment are hurting the Army�s ability to recruit new troops.
dpa/picture alliance via Getty I

Before Tuesday�s hearing, Army officials declined to provide Army Times with its projections for the end strength shortfall or with updated recruiting performance numbers.

The service has done nearly everything it knows how to do in an effort to make end strength: flooding money and resources to USAREC, increasing retention eligibility and goals, activating new officers ahead of schedule and increased staffing to reduce a medical waiver backlog.

But the Army is running out of short-term fix ideas, and a number of policy proposals have languished or been killed due to concerns over lowering standards.

The Army briefly allowed applicants without a high school diploma or GED to enlist if they scored in the top 50% of Americans on their entry aptitude tests, but the policy was rolled back less than a week after it came out.

It�s not clear either if the service will go ahead with its plan to establish a pre-basic training preparatory camp at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, for prospective recruits who need to improve their aptitude scores or lose body fat in order to serve. Proponents say the camp is a way to help young Americans � who are increasingly too fat or otherwise not qualified to serve � meet the Army�s standards before they�re allowed to proceed further in training.

In a previous statement to Army Times, though, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth indicated that the Army understands the enormity of the recruiting crisis and is considering major changes to its accessions system.

�This is not a one-year challenge,� Wormuth said. �And because it�s not a one-year problem we will solve overnight, we are examining a wide range of additional steps we could take in the short and longer term to recruit more soldiers into the Army without lowering standards or sacrificing quality.�

The impact could be dire if the Army can�t solve the end strength problem, said retired Lt. Gen. Tom Spoehr, from the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation think tank.

�Squads start to get short � units start to get short,� said Spoehr in a Friday phone interview. �The Army will be forced [to operate with] either units that are under strength or they�ll have to make some painful decisions about cutting force structure like [Brigade Combat Teams].�

And fewer BCTs could mean more overseas rotations and deployments for those who remain, or an increased dependence on the part-time troops of the National Guard.

going to own when the us empire runs headfirst into two front cold war with an imploded dollar and nobody willing to volunteer to be a troop

# ? Jul 24, 2022 02:41

Rutibex: Sep 9, 2001; by Fluffdaddy

nobody wants to die any more :argh:

# ? Jul 24, 2022 03:04

Palladium: May 8, 2012; Very Good
✔️✔️✔️✔️

imagine the retention rates when troops are expected to fight opponents stronger than Afghan wedding parties

# ? Jul 24, 2022 06:45

OhFunny: Jun 26, 2013; EXTREMELY PISSED AT THE DNC

Danann posted:

https://nypost.com/2022/07/20/citing-recruiting-woes-army-will-shed-up-to-28000-troops-by-2023/

going to own when the us empire runs headfirst into two front cold war with an imploded dollar and nobody willing to volunteer to be a troop

The country is going to slip into recession soon and that's always a boom time for military recruitment so this won't be a problem in my opinion.

# ? Jul 24, 2022 14:35

Cao Ni Ma: May 25, 2010

OhFunny posted:

The country is going to slip into recession soon and that's always a boom time for military recruitment so this won't be a problem in my opinion.

Its more than not whats going to happen but at the same time a part of me is saying that Gen Z is going to rather starve to death than join the military

and I'm sure that there are some generals in the components that share that sentiment with dread.

Cao Ni Ma has issued a correction as of 15:10 on Jul 24, 2022

# ? Jul 24, 2022 15:08

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# ? May 23, 2024 12:38

Frosted Flake: Sep 13, 2011; Semper Shitpost Ubique

Goast posted:

being an army boat guy is probably the funniest job

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mxxiWG8CYOk

# ? Jul 24, 2022 15:29

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