The Computer Designed To Die In Microseconds
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN mentions it only in passing, as a reference for instrumented dummy warheads and implosion-test data in nuclear-testing threads.
What it is
Scott Manley tells the story of a computerized telemetry system built to sit at the heart of a nuclear test device in place of the plutonium pit, designed to transmit data in the microseconds before it was destroyed.
Recommended by 0 HN commenters across 0 different months, 2023 to 2025.
What Hacker News said
Cites areoform · 2023-01 · on “It Takes 6k Gallons of Water to Cool the World’s Fastest Supercomputer”
Politely, this computer exists because the DoE performs stockpile stewardship. Less politely, it exists because of The Bombs. Everything else it will do is a hobby. It is specifically designed for whatever compute needs their classified program has. [LINK] [LINK] All of this capital is being spent because the test ban treaty prohibits the detonation of these weapons, but the US stockpile and its efficacy must be maintained and new weapons must be designed. So how do you know if an old weapon or a new design will work or not? Some part of the answer is real data + simulations. Lots and lots of simulations. It's why Frontier exists and why the DoE has pursued exascale compute for quite some ti
Cites jjoonathan · 2023-10 · on “US moves closer to underground testing of nuclear weapons without any explosions”
> undue delay related to aging circuitry So instead of a dumb inert core you use a smart inert core that broadcasts precise measurements of the implosion using fiber optics and triboluminescent capsules that flash as they are crushed. [this video] But yes, I still share your overall concern even if we can push the question marks one step later in the delicate process.