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The experiment, conducted by staff from NNSS,
Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National
Laboratories, gathered scientific data that will
provide crucial information to maintain the safety
and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear
weapons.
“Challenging subcritical experiments maintain
our capabilities to ensure that we can support
a safe, secure and effective stockpile without
having to conduct underground testing,” said
NNSA Administrator Thomas D’Agostino. “I
applaud the work done by the men and women who
worked to make this experiment successful. Experiments
such as this help deliver President Obama’s
nuclear security agenda.”
Pollux was the 27th subcritical experiment to
date. The previous subcritical experiment, Barolo
B, was conducted on Feb. 2, 2011. Pollux employed
a superb new diagnostic that recently won an R&D
100 award.
“Diagnostic equipment fielded by our scientists
resulted in more data collected in this single
experiment than all other previous subcritical
experiments,” said NNSA Deputy Administrator
for Defense Programs Don Cook. “This type
of data is critical for ensuring our computer
simulations can accurately predict performance,
and thus continued confidence in the safety and
effectiveness of the nation’s stockpile.”
Christopher Deeney, NNSA Assistant Deputy Administrator
for Stockpile Stewardship said, “Pollux will
provide a significant data set to verify codes
important to laboratories' stockpile missions.”
Subcritical experiments examine the behavior
of plutonium as it is strongly shocked by forces
produced by chemical high explosives. Subcritical
experiments produce essential scientific data
and technical information used to help maintain
the safety and effectiveness of the nuclear weapons
stockpile. The experiments are subcritical; that
is, no critical mass is formed and no self-sustaining
nuclear chain reaction can occur; thus, there
is no nuclear explosion.
Watch a video of the experiment on YouTube.
Established by Congress in 2000, NNSA is a semi-autonomous
agency within the U.S. Department of Energy responsible
for enhancing national security through the military
application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains
and enhances the safety, security, reliability
and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile
without nuclear testing; works to reduce global
danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides
the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear
propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological
emergencies in the U.S. and abroad.
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