[BC] Technical Oops!

[RichardBJohnson at comcast.net]

According to a Russian Engineer with whom I work,
in Russia's Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, nestled
in the Ural Mountains, there existed (past tense) a hamlet
with a population of about 100,000, mostly Atomic Scientists
and technicians. In about 1970 the town disappeared
when assembling a new 'pit' for a nuclear device. This
was an "upgrade" using SCRs instead of old-fashioned
Kytrons for their bridge-wire detonators.

Very few Russian Nuclear Scientists were left to improve
the former Soviet Union's nuclear arsenal. That marked the
first turning point in the cold war.

Somebody didn't bother to check that SCRs occasionally
fire of their own accord, especially near alpha particles.

--
Cheers,
Richard B. Johnson