"why are iran's nuclear technology efforts of critical concern to israel's...
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Uranium Isotopes
Natural Uranium -- 0.7% U235 , 99.3% U238
Power reactor enrichment -- 3.5- 5.5% U235
Fission bomb enrichment -- ~ 90% U235
Enrichment Methods
Calutron (mass spectrometer)
Gaseous Diffusion
Centrifuge Cascade
Separation of Isotopes by Laser Excitation (SILEX)
Feed Nf
Take Out of Enriched Uranium
Take Out of Depleted Uranium
Product Np
Tails Nt
Separation ofU235 and U238
Enrichment Method EffectivenessSeparative Work Unit (SWO)
Iranian Centrifuge Inventory
NR-1 (.7-1 SWU/a)9,000 operational6,420 installed15,420 total
NR-2 (3.5-5 SWU/a)1000 installed
Ref. IAEA 10/14
Amount of highly enriched Uranium or Plutonium for a 20KT-yield Atomic (fission) bomb
• Hiroshima Bomb (little boy): – 64kgs 80%U235
• Modern Uranium designs: – Low tech. 16kgs 90%U235 – High tech. 5kgs 90%U235
• Modern Plutonium designs: – Low tech. 6kgs Pu239 – High tech. 3kgs Pu239
• Ref. Nation Resources Defense Council 1995 paper by Cochran and Paine.
SWOs needed to provide:Yearly 3.6% enriched U for a 1000MWe Power Reactor, 150,000SWUs (e.g. Iran’s Bushelr PWR)
One “low tech.” Fission (90% enriched U) bomb.
1119SWUs
(starting with 3.6% enriched U)
Israel
Area ~ New Jersey
Population 7.8 million 76% Jews
Jewish population centers Tel Aviv Haifa West Jerusalem
Iran’s Nuclear Objective(s)?
Support electric power generation
Provide security/deterrence
Destroy Israel