Word: fissionability
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...Fission in Fort Worth...
...Minister of Electric Power Development and Electrification, announced at the meeting that his country had recently made a major technical breakthrough toward nuclear fusion. If the Soviets could construct a successful nuclear fusion reactor, it would deliver about five to ten times the power of a now commonly used fission reactor...
...hydrogen bomb, a fission reaction at the core triggers a fusion reaction,* which releases a rapid burst of neutrons. These neutrons have to penetrate an outer shield of uranium 238, which reduces their velocity, increases the bomb's explosive punch and releases harmful radioactivity...
...Fission splits atomic nuclei apart; fusion forces light atomic nuclei together to form heavy nuclei. Both reactions release large amounts of energy...
They admit that their brainstorm has some shortcomings. Because of the shuttle's small payload, only the most hazardous fission byproducts could be considered for launch. They would also require almost foolproof packaging-probably a hardened mix of metals and ceramic encased in stainless steel spheres. As a precaution against a crash during lift-off or in the early stages of the journey, the spheres would be carried in an aerodynamically shaped container with heat shielding. That would enable them to survive a fiery plunge back into the atmosphere without spreading radioactive debris round the earth...