Breeder reactors, Breeder reactors, Breeder re.... (Score 1)

People, the Breeder reaction is a very basic physical property of Urianium and Thorium. The low energy neutrons bump an electron off the Uranium 238 and causes it to hopscotch about the periodic table untill it lands on Pl-139, which is just as fissle as U-235.

The big fun-fun part of it is that it produces this unfriendly mix of Pl-139,140,141,etc. Aka Reactor-grade plutonium. Weapons grade plutonium is ==pure== Pl-139. You could hold it in your hand. The only way to get weapns-grade plutonium is to pump gob-boodles of Mwe (and millions of $) into a specially designed isotope seperation process. So, you get this nice hogde-podge of fissle material that gets used again and again and again untill all you've got left is some light to heavy metals in the half-life range of tens of years. Most of which are either alpha or beta emitters (ie tin foil is a great shield material).

Terrorists don't have the capital or the time to turn reactor-grade pl into weapons-grade. It's easier for them to buy pre-assembled warheads from the former Soviet republics of Kasakistan, Uzbekistan, etc. Those poor folks have nothing to eat. And nothing to sell but hiiigh priced oil and big boom-booms. What would you do? Starve?