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DOE OSTI · 2323512

Pit Technologies at a Glance

Horak, Steven Anton·Mitchell, Renae L.
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Abstract

The National Nuclear Security Administration has tasked Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) with important national security work: to develop a plutonium pit manufacturing capability and deliver a minimum of 30 plutonium pits per year in the years ahead. A pit is a hollow sphere of plutonium that, when uniformly compressed by explosives inside a warhead or bomb, causes a nuclear explosion. New pits are needed to maintain the nation’s nuclear stockpile and are a key component of nuclear deterrence and world peace. LANL’s Pit Technologies (PT) division manufactures these pits safely and securely. The work takes place in the Plutonium Facility (PF-4), the nation’s most modern plutonium science and manufacturing facility. LANL is currently the only place in the country with the capability to manufacture plutonium pits.

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Horak, Steven Anton, Mitchell, Renae L.. 2024-03-08. Pit Technologies at a Glance. https://doi.org/10.2172/2323512

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