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Evaluation of Quantification of Margins and Uncertainties Methodology for Assessing and Certifying the Reliability of the Nuclear Stockpile (2009) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix C: Glossary
Pages 77-80

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From page 77...
... These experiments are performed on inert primary pits that contain nonfissile material having properties similar to those of fissile plutonium. A variety of methods are used to monitor the behavior of the imploding inert pit metal.
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From page 78...
... Nuclear Explosive Package The nuclear explosive package -- also called the physics package -- is the portion of a nuclear weapon that contains all of the components that generate the actual nuclear explosion; specifically, the fission primary -- with its plutonium pit -- and the thermonuclear secondary device. Performance Gate A performance gate is a range of acceptable values, defined by subsystem margins and uncertainties, for the performance of each of many subsystems in the chain of events occurring in a nuclear explosion.
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From page 79...
... The QMU process is analogous to the concept of engineering safety margins -- i.e., the system is designed so that its operating margins are far enough from the failure thresholds to provide high confidence that the system will work reliably even though the magnitude and uncertainty of the margin for a particular performance metric may not be known with great precision. Subcritical Subcritical nuclear tests are tests of nuclear materials and com­ponents that do not produce a nuclear chain reaction -- that is, they do not reach critical mass and therefore produce no nuclear yield.
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Key Terms

  • nuclear tests
  • imploding pit
  • performance gate
  • nuclear chain
  • underground nuclear

  • nuclear explosive
  • integral data
  • nuclear explosion
  • pit metal
  • nuclear weapon

  • physical inputs
  • nuclear yield
  • weapon primary
  • repetition frequency
  • weapons simulation

  • probability distribution
  • qmu qmu
  • inert primary
  • critical mass
  • simulation computer

  • produce data
  • nonfissile material
  • record images
  • pin dome
  • work reliably

  • experiments producing
  • imploding inert
  • tain nonfissile
  • frequency value
  • secondary device


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