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Who: Kimball Corson. Text and Photos not disclaimed or that are obviously not mine are copyright (c) Kimball Corson 2004-2016
Port: Lake Pleasant, AZ
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Russia Is Likely Building a Cobalt Bomb

24 November 2015 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
Kimball Corson
That is a hydrogen bomb surrounded by large amounts of cobalt -- sometimes called a doomsday device -- because it is designed to produce enhanced amounts of radioactive fallout to contaminate a large area with radioactivity. When triggered, the neutrons from the nuclear fission reaction will be absorbed by the cobalt and turn it into the radioactive isotope Cobalt-60 which markedly enhances its nuclear fallout and radiological threat.

A cobalt bomb is a radiological weapon.The half-life of the radioactive cobalt produced is about five years, which is long enough to give the fallout plenty of time to disperse and settle before it seriously kills, but short enough to produce intense radiation for a lot longer than you could last in a fallout shelter. There's almost no upper limit to how much cobalt and explosive power you can put in nukes that are buried for deterrence or transported by sea. Climatological simulations have shown how hydrogen bombs can potentially lift fallout high enough to enshroud the globe, creating a real risk of extinction to humanity. An arsenal of cobalt bomb could easily make the earth uninhabitable.

Recently Russian state media "accidentally" leaked plans for a large underwater drone designed to piggyback on a large submarine which many think is to deliver a cobalt bomb. The leak was hardly accidental because the whole point of a Doomsday Machine is lost if it is kept it a secret. Russia is flexing its muscles and has a new found aggressive adventurism in Putin lately.

Obama should keep his election promise and take U.S. nuclear missiles off hair-trigger alert, then cancel the planned trillion dollar nuclear weapons upgrade, and ratchet up international pressure on Russia to follow suit? Just a handful of nuclear weapons is enough to provide powerful deterrence, and all but two nuclear powers have decided that a few hundred nuclear weapons suffice. Since the U.S. and Russia currently have about 7000 each, thousands of which are on hair-trigger alert, the main effect of reducing their arsenals would not be to weaken deterrence but to reduce the risk of accidental war and incentivize nuclear non-proliferation. The trillion dollars saved can be used in many more useful ways.

But make no mistake about it. A new threat and a most deadly one is among us and we need to act proactively regarding Putin's new adventurism. Future AI, if it ever comes to rival us for survival, might view an arsenal of cobalt bombs as the ideal weapon -- it would get us, but not them.
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Vessel Name: Altaira
Vessel Make/Model: A Fair Weather Mariner 39 is a fast (PHRF 132), heavily ballasted (43%), high-aspect (6:1), stiff, comfortable, offshore performance cruiser by Bob Perry that goes to wind well (30 deg w/ good headway) and is also good up and down the Beaufort scale.
Hailing Port: Lake Pleasant, AZ
Crew: Kimball Corson. Text and Photos not disclaimed or that are obviously not mine are copyright (c) Kimball Corson 2004-2016
About:
Kimball Corson: I am a 75 year old solo sailor, by choice. However, I did take on a personable, but high maintenance female kitten, now a full grown cat, named KiKiPoo when she is sweet, or KatKatPo after she has just killed something like a bird or bat. [...]
Extra:
Although I was a lawyer and practiced law with good success for thirty years, creating significant new law, I never really believed in the law, the politics of law or in the over reaching self-interest of most lawyers I met. Too much exposure to Nietzsche and other good and seriously thoughtful [...]
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Profile

Who: Kimball Corson. Text and Photos not disclaimed or that are obviously not mine are copyright (c) Kimball Corson 2004-2016
Port: Lake Pleasant, AZ