Are America's plutonium pits too old to perform in the new Cold War? Or are new ones necessary?

The aging of plutonium pits is a big question mark. The potential power they yield is one of the most critical factors in triggering a nuclear explosion. But just as American voters are facing a “contest of the ancients” in this electoral year, so are scientists grappling with the vexing matter of plutonium’s lifespan.

Related Keywords

Moscow , Moskva , Russia , California , United States , South Carolina , Rocky Flats , Colorado , Louisiana , Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory , Los Alamos National Laboratory , New Mexico , Raton , Savannah River , Denver , Berkeley , Canada , Arizona , Ukraine , China , Americans , New Mexicans , Soviet , America , American , Vladimir Putin , Ben Ray Luj , Dylan Spaulding , John Smith , Alicia Inez Guzm , Marvin Adams , Sharon Weiner , Geoff Wilson , Barack Obama , Raymond Jeanloz , John Kennedy , Jill Hruby , Charles Watkins , Martin Heinrich , Kevin Beaty , Michael Peterson , Searchlightnewmexico Facebook , Jeff Bingaman , Siegfried Hecker , Thom Mason , Donald Trump , Jay Coghlan , George Bush , Department Of Defense , Nuclear Deterrence Summit , Us Space Force Launch Delta , Department Of Energy , Princeton University Program On Science , Atomic Energy Commission , Us Air , Titan Missile Museum In Green Valley , School Of International Service At American University , National Nuclear Security Administration , University Of California , Union Of Concerned Scientists , Heritage Foundation , Nuclear Watch New Mexico , Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility , Los Alamos National , Cold War , Searchlight New Mexico , Glenn Seaborg , President Donald Trump , Nuclear Deterrence , Democratic Senators Ben Ray Luj , President Barack Obama , International Service , Titan Missile Museum , Green Valley , Arizona Photo , Space Launch Delta , Princeton University , President George Bush , Creative Commons , Creative Commons Attribution Noderivatives , Searchlight New ,