[2008] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Re: secret history of the development of PK crypto
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Phil Karn)
Thu Dec 25 15:55:55 1997
Date: Thu, 25 Dec 1997 12:02:37 -0800 (PST)
From: Phil Karn <karn@qualcomm.com>
To: cryptech@mcs.net
CC: karn@qualcomm.com, cryptography@c2.net
In-reply-to: <Pine.BSF.3.95.971224223146.11146B-100000@Jupiter.Mcs.Net>
(message from Mike Rosing on Wed, 24 Dec 1997 22:35:52 -0600 (CST))
>No, most fissile material is only an alpha emitter, you can handle it
>with gloves. If I was faced with such a complex detonator, I'd build my
>own from the fissile material.
Exactly. And unless your knowledge of nuclear weapons engineering is
as good as the US DOE's, the fissile material from a single weapon
wouldn't be enough to build one of your own.
As I said earlier, increased fission efficiency was a major theme of
early US nuclear weapons research. It's now a mature technology well
beyond the extremely wasteful Little Boy and Fat Man designs.
To Steve Bellovin: I saw your quotes in the NYT article, and I
realized I had misunderstood you. I agree, while the US didn't have PK
crypto in 1962, the problem could very easily have spurred the
research that eventually produced it.
Phil
