Stockpile Stewardship: How we ensure the nuclear deterrent without testing

In the 1990s, the U.S. nuclear weapons program shifted emphasis from developing new designs to dismantling thousands of existing weapons and maintaining a much smaller enduring stockpile. The United States ceased underground nuclear testing, and the Department of Energy created the Stockpile Stewardship Program to maintain the safety, security, and reliability of the U.S. nuclear deterrent without full-scale testing.
This video gives a behind the scenes look at a set of unique capabilities at Lawrence Livermore that are indispensable to the Stockpile Stewardship Program: high performance computing, the Superblock category II nuclear facility, the JASPER a two stage gas gun, the High Explosive Applications Facility (HEAF), the National Ignition Facility (NIF), and the Site 300 contained firing facility.
Stockpile Stewardship Program
nnsa.energy.gov/aboutus/ourpro...
Livermore Computing
computation.llnl.gov/research/...
Superblock
www.llnl.gov/str/March01/Sefc...
JASPER
str.llnl.gov/april-2013/holmes
HEAF
wci.llnl.gov/facilities/heaf
National Ignition Facility
lasers.llnl.gov/science/stock...
Site 300
wci.llnl.gov/fac/site300/

[@thomasmetz3]

Best place in the world to work at. During my 35 year career at LLNL, I got to work on incredible projects, including the Stockpile Stewardship effort. That’s me at 2:28 for a whole 2 seconds of screen time😊

[@smokeylovesfire1589]

Thank you for your service!

[@minnermin]

Hell ya dude

[@clarkgriswold5842]

Cute

[@MitzvosGolem1]

Retired from DOE miss working there. Best time of my life.

[@LivermoreLab]

ENSURING THE NUCLEAR DETERRENT WITHOUT TESTING: In the 1990s, the U.S. nuclear weapons program shifted emphasis from developing new designs to dismantling thousands of existing weapons and maintaining a much smaller enduring stockpile. The United States ceased underground nuclear testing, and the Department of Energy created the Stockpile Stewardship Program to maintain the safety, security, and reliability of the U.S. nuclear deterrent without full-scale testing. This video gives a behind the scenes look at a set of unique capabilities at Lawrence Livermore that are indispensable to the Stockpile Stewardship Program: high performance computing, the Superblock category II nuclear facility, the JASPER a two stage gas gun, the High Explosive Applications Facility (HEAF), the National Ignition Facility (NIF), and the Site 300 contained firing facility. Stockpile Stewardship Program nnsa.energy.gov/aboutus/ourprograms/defenseprograms/aboutdefenseprograms Livermore Computing computation.llnl.gov/research/mission-support/WCI Superblock www.llnl.gov/str/March01/Sefcik.html JASPER str.llnl.gov/april-2013/holmes HEAF www.llnl.gov/news/aroundthelab/2014/May/atl_052214_HEAF.html National Ignition Facility lasers.llnl.gov/science/stockpile-stewardship Site 300 wci.llnl.gov/fac/site300/

[@cat637d]

My heartfelt thanks to all of the unsung and unknown HEROES who have kept our nation safe since the second world war! God bless all of you and your families! Hello to Earnie and Sparky if you read this, I hope you are doing well!

[@grandlotus1]

Reliability is the key to deterrence and deterrence is the key to continued peace.

[@giacomoc4119]

If these weapons were to be used, our world would be ruined for millenia, and humanity would most likely go extinct; so what's the point of taking this risk? If enemies were to use the same weapons against the US in a large scale, the environmental consequences would be disastrous also for them, even without a response, so it's madness using them. Just leave a couple of them for NASA, in case they need to deviate a meteorite.

[@MrBen527]

Great video!

[@aldocolamartino2991]

Very, very interesting.

[@MasterX767]

Wow, just wow! Thanks for your work! I love it! Keep up the excellence. Next, is a facility that can test and maintain SUPER heavy metals. 🤘

[@chadblechinger5746]

Awesome video.

[@lessevdoolbretsim]

That's the same way I feel about my old car....I hope to God I never have to start it.

[@NathansHVAC]

I had an old car that blew the engine. She did get me home leaving Parts all over the street.

[@benquinney2]

Threw a rod

[@josephgeis6641]

Lets hope we never use them. But i know we need them. Thank you all for you service to keep us safe.

[@josephkanowitz6875]

ב''ה, why have them if they don't get used?

[@tigertiger1699]

Well done, cheers for saving the planet from testing them..👍

[@iitzfizz]

The Always/Never rule...They must always work but never be used.

[@ericarthurblair1287]

It's F-ing funny that Rick Perry is their new boss..,.

[@nabakadel]

May rule of law and democracy prevail in the United States and the world. May all of the stockpiles of weapons around the world that were manufactured to kill and destroy others never be materialized. May the people around the world respect truth, justice and coexist together with cooperation.

[@adamwhite3584]

The US never signed the test ban Treaty, it "Observes" it. Meaning we should just test the fricken bombs underground as we did ratify the atmospheric treaty. I'd be a great Earth Czar BTW 😊

[@0MoTheG]

The explosion at 9:00 did not look like it had anything to do with the topic.

[@SICKFREDO]

is just showing some of the type of testing done at HEAF.

[@jedgould5531]

They convinced me these could never be safe weapons simply because they can’t be truly tested. Despite these claims, the rockets, the explosions, no way to defeat or recall. Never mind their nuclear nature, the system design is nuts! Just watching the speakers with bland-looking backgrounds and the triple-L logo is frightening. Are any of these guys still alive?

[@thunderpop20]

I need a dr opration

[@AppliedCryogenics]

I sure am glad LLNL is doing this for us. So many smart, capable people. Also glad their Russian counterparts have likely just pocketed most of the money since the 1980's.

[@adamwhite3584]

The Russians are building or producing new weapons. Which is smart when you're honest about the criminals who run the United States

[@kush8978]

Is this the prequel to black mesa?

[@benquinney2]

Uncertainty quantification

[@billharshbarger7191]

thanks all of you for keeping the sword of damocles hanging above all humanity for no reason but enforcing american imperial hegemony

[@skipsassy1]

what about putting them in helium vaults .....don't their properties remain in Nobel gases?

[@christopherleubner6633]

Helium is too penetrating it could compromise parts like semiconductors for the Radar, capacitors for the firing set etc. The main problem is the core is quite warm and makes neutrons that degrade the explosives that assemble the core to a critical mass. The "critical" components (pun intended) are contained in a laser welded metal capsual called the "canned subassembly" for exactly these reasons. Plutonium is a very reactive metal chemically, behaves a lot like cerium that makes cigarette lighter's spark. Machining the stuff has to be pure nightmare fuel... 🤓

[@emilkarpo]

Most , no all, of the still images and video had nothing to do with nuclear weapon stewardship. A couple talking heads and a whole bunch of b-roll of server rooms and machinists going their thing.

[@corb.6837]

8 kilometers = 4.97097 miles (Don't know why their not using miles, I'm more accustom to it).

[@DumbSkippy]

Because Only America, Myanmar and Liberia still use Imperial measurement. The other nearly two hundred countries in the world use the SI or Metric system. Believe it or not the world doesn't revolve around America or you mate. Oh and American scientist use Metric except when NASA crashes a Mars lander, on Mars because you screw up and used imperial ! By the way, I do get you. When US docos talk about square feet, stupid US Gallons that aren't really Imperial gallons, because you guys decided to choose a bizarre size for US gallons or pounds, I have not idea, so I get your point. I was born in the Imperial years but we went metric not long after.

[@ShikataGaNai100]

Now, if you really want to worry, consider the fact that this whole program is being administered by a guy with a degree in Animal Husbandry; Rick Perry.

[@adamwhite3584]

And not long ago a weirdo named Sam Brinton who liked to steal luggage at airports, among other ridiculous tendencies

[@whtbobwntsbobget]

SNITCHES GET STITCHES! NO MERCY FOR CHINESE SPIES!!!!

[@montanasnowman3138]

Waste of money

[@anthonyenos8677]

Close Laurence Livermore Labs move it to remote location away from large cities and move the scientist with them......

[@Indrid__Cold]

Instead of "stockpile stewardship" it should be called "suicide assurance."

[@NathansHVAC]

The week live under the protection of the strong. Suicide would be banning the strong.

[@abathens]

It's only being used to deter the enemy.

[@Indrid__Cold]

@@abathens Then we do not need a trillion dollars a year on conventional weapons. Our nuclear arsenal should suffice.

[@user-cf1se1kk5x]

Make sure they work by testing them in Democrat states.

[@Phil-fw2ib]

Idiot

[@MrRichard57000]

stupid bombs...

[@outerrealm]

He’s wrong about cars. 99% of parts for cars 25-30 years old are readily available. I drive them.

[@outerrealm]

Is it 400,000 times faster, or 400,000 times as fast? Is there a difference? Yes, and most people get it wrong because they ignore the literal meaning of the grammar. 400,000 times faster means literally 400,001 times the measured speed. You do the math.