North Korea tests Hydrogen nuke.

[ZenOps]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/06/asia/n...gen-bomb-test/

Hydrogen (Tritium) nukes being a order of magnitude more destructive than the US nukes dropped on Japan.

US claims 5.1 earthquake would not be powerful enough to be certain of Hydrogen nuke, possibly standard nuke.

[Sentry]

Maybe they tested a hydogen bomb that failed to go thermonuclear.

Technically it's an H-Bomb test, even if it's a failure.

[revelations]

An hbomb would have created a much strong earthquake (M6?); the resultant earthquake was similar to their last a-bomb test.

[ZenOps]

I find it fascinating the amount of Tritium the US has produced in the last sixty years.

"According to the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research report in 1996 about the U.S. Department of Energy, only 225 kg (496 lb) of tritium has been produced in the United States since 1955. Since it continually decays into helium-3, the total amount remaining was about 75 kg (165 lb) at the time of the report." - Wiki.

If the publically allowed information is correct, only four grams of Tritium is needed to boost a standard nuke into an H-bomb. If North Korea has managed to produce four grams of Tritium its an incredibly impressive feat. If they simply bought it, not so much.

The suggested price of $40,000 per gram - does not do it justice as to the rarity of the material. I mean really, by all metrics Marijuana should be about three times more expensive than Broccoli (if both were legal) but Tritium should be a lot closer to $1 million per gram.

[carson blocks]

Originally posted by ZenOps
If the publically allowed information is correct, only four grams of Tritium is needed to boost a standard nuke into an H-bomb. If North Korea has managed to produce four grams of Tritium its an incredibly impressive feat. If they simply bought it, not so much.

From my limited understanding, you don't necessarily need Tritium, it can be made using the first stage fission reaction and lithium-6. I think that's how "Ivy Mike" worked.

Originally posted by ZenOps
The suggested price of $40,000 per gram - does not do it justice as to the rarity of the material. I mean really, by all metrics Marijuana should be about three times more expensive than Broccoli (if both were legal) but Tritium should be a lot closer to $1 million per gram.

The price isn't anywhere near that because pricing is set by supply and demand, not simply rarity. The global demand for tritium is small, (I think I read less than 400g/year) and it is produced as a byproduct of nuclear power generation in heavy water moderated reactors. From my layman's understanding, heavy water (Deuterium oxide) as a moderator gets bombarded by neutrons and doesn't readily absorb them (which is why it's a good moderator), but occasionally a Deuterium nucleus captures a neutron and becomes Tritium. The heavy water is regularly treated to remove tritium just in case of a spill.

[Mitsu3000gt]

All reports seem to say it's not an H-bomb, not strong enough. Same magnitude as their detonation years ago.

Also the reason why it would be concerning if they were successful is that H-bombs are compact, so they can fit on the end of a cruise missile.