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Glite Dictionary
plutonium trigger

plutonium trigger

9.9
A small metal device that holds plutonium and starts a nuclear explosion when explosives squeeze it
  • noun
  • /pluˈtoʊniəm ˈtrɪɡər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : dispositivo de plutonio
  • Engineers at the lab are developing safer designs for plutonium triggers in atomic bombs.

Examples

  • The factory produces plutonium triggers used in advanced nuclear weapons systems.

  • The warhead contains 14.5 kilograms... of enriched uranium with a plutonium trigger.

    True Lies (1994)

  • Each nuclear warhead is activated by a plutonium trigger that initiates the fission reaction.

Synonyms

plutonium pit
vsplutonium trigger
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A metal sphere with plutonium that starts a nuclear explosion when squeezed by explosives

describes it as a device made from that sphere to initiate fission

Surface Forms

plutonium trigger singular
plutonium triggers plural

Morphology

plutonium + trigger

The phrase is partly compositional: a learner who knows 'plutonium' and 'trigger' can infer it refers to a triggering device that uses plutonium or initiates something involving plutonium. However, the precise technical meaning (a specific plutonium core used to initiate nuclear fission in weapons) is specialized and not fully predictable from the constituents, so it requires domain knowledge beyond basic vocabulary.

Etymology

The noun plutonium trigger combines the metal plutonium and the word trigger, which is like the part of a gun that makes it fire. The image is of a small piece of plutonium that 'triggers' a much larger nuclear reaction, so the phrase means the device that starts that powerful reaction.