Red mercury
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- For other uses, see Red mercury (disambiguation).
Red mercury is a discredited substance that was thought to be used in the creation of nuclear bombs (some believed that red mercury was a ballotechnic material).
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The story
The theory is that red mercury is an incredibly powerful conventional explosive that can be used in the making of small and highly portable fusion bombs (H-bombs) or red mercury WMD.
Current fusion bombs require the detonation of a nuclear fission device to trigger a fusion reaction. A conventional explosion of red mercury is supposedly powerful enough to similarly trigger a fusion reaction, without the need for nuclear fission. A bomb of such design would be much smaller and easier to transport than current fusion bombs; if red mercury existed and had such properties, it might be used to make a softball-sized bomb with a yield of two megatons. This theory has been advanced by neutron bomb inventor Samuel Cohen, however many of his other weapons-related statements in the past have been shown to be inaccurate.
If red mercury were indeed this powerful, then it would be a potent weapon in and of itself, without use in a nuclear weapon. However, no substance of this nature has ever been shown to exist.
Another theory popular in the mid-1990s was that red mercury facilitated the enrichment of uranium to weapons-grade purity. Conventionally, such enrichment is usually done with precision centrifuges, and takes several years. Red Mercury was speculated to eliminate this costly and time-consuming step.
Possible explanations
More mundane theories on the nature of the substance include:
- that it is very high-quality uranium or plutonium, being distributed under a codename
- that its existence is a hoax perpetrated on would-be terrorists, rogue states, or traffickers in military contraband
- there was also a claim that "red mercury" used in Soviet analogues of the Stealth technology, which makes an aircraft invisible to a radar.
One televised report indicated that the Soviet Union, which had a vested interest in nuclear non-proliferation, encouraged the KGB and GRU to arrange sting operations for the detection of those seeking to deal in nuclear materials. The Soviet intelligence services created a myth of the necessity of "red mercury" for the sorts of nuclear devices that terrorists and rogue governments might seek. The substance is a mere pigment devoid of properties suitable for nuclear weapons; it is speculated to be mercury sulfide (cinnabar), mercury(II) iodide, mercury antimony oxide (Hg2Sb2O7) or any other red-colored mercury compound. Possession of this substance as the result of undercover deals with Soviet law enforcement was an obvious ground for immediate arrest and likely conviction in criminal courts, with severe punishment following conviction.
Following the arrest of several men in the UK in September 2004, on suspicion they were trying to buy a kilo of red mercury for £300,000, the International Atomic Energy Agency made a statement dismissing claims that the substance is real. "Red mercury doesn't exist," said the spokesman. "The whole thing is a bunch of malarkey."
Further reading
- The book Imaginary Weapons: A Journey Through the Pentagon's Scientific Underworld (ISBN 1560258497), by Sharon Weinberger, describes the Red Mercury myth, as well as the government's fascination with isomer weapons, which is sometimes suspected of being Red Mercury. Like Red Mercury, some believe that nuclear isomers could be used to build a fissionless thermonuclear weapon. However, also like Red Mercury, the idea of an isomer bomb has been widely derided by the scientific community.
- Peter Hounam, Steve McQuillan, The Mini-Nuke Conspiracy: How Mandela Inherited a Nuclear Nightmare, Viking Adult (October 1, 1995) ISBN 0670869252. This book made the claim that South Africa had made Red Mercury, and with it a thousand miniature tactical nuclear weapons, that were now in the hands of non-governmental South African right-wing elements.
In fiction
Storylines based on the sale and terrorist applications of Red Mercury have appeared in episodes of two BBC drama series. Bugs contained an episode during its second series concerning a large quantity of Red Mercury being held by international arms dealers and being traded to fictional middle-eastern factions. Spooks later utilised Red Mercury in its third season as bait for an Al-Qaeda style terrorist group. It suggested that Red Mercury was a myth.
In the Dark•Matter roleplaying game, Red Mercury does exist, and the player characters may find themselves having to hunt down terrorists who may want to use it for weapons of mass destruction. In keeping with the conspiracy theory and UFO themes of the game, while Red Mercury is indeed usable as a seemingly impossibly potent nuclear fuel, it's actually originally meant to be a foodstuff for a bizarre alien race. The Red Mercury on Earth arrived when that species visited, and humans have been trying to duplicate it (with very limited success) since.