ragamuffin asked
Reports of red mercury first surfaced after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, when former communist officials and scientists, hurting for money, began selling weapons grade nuclear material on the world market. According to experts, red mercury can simplify the building of a nuclear weapon, an attractive idea for terrorists. Although it is not an explosive, red mercury serves as a high-energy catalyst capable of triggering nuclear fusion. One report suggests that red mercury was first successfully developed in 1965 at a Soviet research center at Dubna, near Moscow, the outgrowth of earlier efforts to produce fusion using high-explosive implosion technology. Soviet scientists mentioned this research publicly in 1958, then a dark veil of secrecy came down. Press reports centered on the mystery surrounding red mercury, making it clear that no one knew much about it. One of the few detailed articles appeared in the June 1994 issue of International Defense Review, which featured an interview with a Russian nuclear chemist. His explanation was less than enlightening: 'Red mercury is principally based on mercury antimony oxide.... This chemical compound, a reddish dark brown or purple powder, is produced in relatively large quantities at a chemical factory in Ekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk); it is not available from chemical suppliers in the West. The mercury antimony oxide produced in Russia is used mainly, if not exclusively, for the production of red mercury.' None of which sheds any light on the supposedly deadly characteristics of red mercury. And on that there is little agreement. In fact, only a few scientists believe red mercury really exists. One of them is Sam Cohen, an American nuclear physicist who helped design the neutron bomb. He says 'red mercury is real and it is terrifying. I think it is part of a terrorist weapon that potentially spells the end of organized society.'
156 answers · 0 comments
Answer this yourself in the app
See how this splits by age, gender, and region in the app.
