Question regarding ICBM Strike against Any Country

[kurup]

After the impact, the radioactive material from ground zero can be analyzed to find out the exact proportion of fissile material used in the nuclear weapon, which can be used to find out the reactor which produced it, hence determining the hostile nation.

How can the radioactive material be traced back to the reactor it produced ???

Does every country has this capability ???

I suggest you watch the movie "The Sum of All Fears". It describes a nuclear escalation between USA/Russia with reasonable accuracy.

A nice movie . Worth watching .

 

[The Deterrent]

How can the radioactive material be traced back to the reactor it produced ???

By Nuclear Forensics, or nuclear "fingerprint" analysis. Usually this is done if some suspected radioactive material is seized, or for the possibility of a terrorist nuclear explosion (responsibility not claimed by any nation). In case of war, the responsible nation should be already known in almost every case.

A good read on this topic:
http://radchem.nevada.edu/classes/n...r Forensics - Methodology Providing Clues.pdf

There are numerous techniques for analysis, to find out the proportions of radioactive matter in the residue. For tracing, first the age of the material is determined (by analyzing decay rate). The reactor type can also be determined as follows:

"Different reactor types show different neutron energy distributions,
therefore the plutonium isotopic composition is a key parameter for
the identification of the reactor type where the Pu was produced."

Then, there is the method of geolocation, to find out the place where the uranium ore was mined:

"The natural variations in the isotopic composition of certain
elements may provide clues on the geographic origin of the material."

Furthermore, international cooperation can also help in determining whether it was a friendly nation's reactor-produced fissile material or not.

Does every country has this capability ???

It depends on sources of data on reactors for comparison. US/NATO have the most resources, so generally they can trace nuclear materials with relative ease. The analysis methods are not that complex, any nuclear nation should be able to perform them.

A nice movie . Worth watching .

I have watched it like a dozen times