Nuclear explosive 53144 198766674 2008-03-17T01:55:55Z SmackBot 433328 Date the maintenance tags or general fixes A '''nuclear explosive''' is an [[explosive]] device that derives its energy from [[nuclear reaction]]s. Almost all nuclear explosive devices that have been designed and produced are [[nuclear weapon]]s intended for [[warfare]]. Other, non-warfare, applications for nuclear explosives have occasionally been proposed. For example, [[nuclear pulse propulsion]] is a form of [[spacecraft propulsion]] that would use nuclear explosives to provide impulse to a spacecraft. A similar application is the proposal to use nuclear explosives for [[asteroid deflection]]. From 1958 to 1965 the [[United States]] government ran a project to design a nuclear explosive powered nuclear pulse rocket called [[Project Orion (nuclear propulsion)|Project Orion]]. Never built, this vessel would use repeated nuclear explosions to propel itself and was considered surprisingly practical. It is thought to be a feasible design for interstellar travel. On Earth, nuclear explosives were once considered for use in large-scale excavation. A nuclear explosion could be used to create a [[harbor]], or a [[mountain pass]], or possibly large underground cavities for use as storage space. It was thought that detonating a nuclear explosive in oil-rich rock could make it possible to extract more from the deposit. From 1958 to 1973 the U. S government exploded 28 nuclear test-shots in a project called the [[Operation Plowshare]]. The purpose of the operation was to use [[peaceful nuclear explosions]] for moving and lifting enormous amounts of earth and rock during construction projects such as building reservoirs. The Soviet Union conducted a much more vigorous program of 122 nuclear tests, some with multiple devices, between 1965 and 1989 under the auspices of Program No. 7-[[Nuclear Explosions for the National Economy]]. As controlled [[nuclear fusion]] has proven difficult to use as an energy source, an alternate proposal for producing [[fusion power]] has been to detonate nuclear fusion explosives inside very large underground chambers and then using the heat produced, which would be absorbed by a molten salt coolant which would also absorb neutrons. See the [[PACER]] project for more details. Failure to meet objectives, along with the realization of the dangers of [[nuclear fallout]] and other residual radioactivity, and with the enactment of various agreements such as the [[Partial Test Ban Treaty]] and the [[Outer Space Treaty]], has led to the termination of most{{Fact|date=March 2008}} of these programs. ==External links== *[http://www.nuclearweaponarchive.org/Nwfaq/Nfaq0.html Nuclear Weapons Frequently Asked Questions] [[Category:Nuclear physics]] [[Category:Explosives]]