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Originally Posted by Fred Brackin
I can't say whether or not the neutrons from one bomb might set off another bomb is they were touching outer casing to outer casing. It's probablyt an extremely technical (and specialized) question but it is somehting like what happens in a modern multi-stage nuclear device (though both nuclear cores are inside the same casing then).
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I'd think it would be a pretty solid no, assuming we mean a proper detonation rather than a possibly damaging misfire.
The neutron flux would certainly induce fission in fissionables. But it won't change that those fissionables aren't arranged in a configuration that allows them to achieve supercriticality.
Neutron flux could easily
destroy a fission bomb, but it would be nigh-impossible to cause it to detonate anything like as intended. Unless the incoming flux is so high that it substitutes for the internal neutron density that would be generated during normal prompt criticality... Which would mean that the area around the bomb has been hit harder by the incoming flux than it will be by the energy released from the bomb!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fred Brackin
Spaceships hypothetical fusion-only devices are even harder to say anything about as you need temperature and pressure rather than neutrons to set those off. Making large fusion-only nuclear devices explode might be very difficult.
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Seems about as plausible as detonating a modern fission device by setting off a conventional bomb next to it - you'll certainly break it, but it's functionally and maybe even physically impossible to do so in a way that makes the active material do its thing.