Red mercury is a mythical substance that was claimed to be used in the creation of
nuclear bombs (some believed that red mercury was a
ballotechnic material). It was supposed that red mercury is an incredibly powerful conventional explosive that can be used in the making of small and highly portable fusion bombs (H-bombs) or red mercury WMD.

It rose to prominence due to "sting" operations against putative terrorists. These consist of offering them "red mercury" and then arresting them when they make arrangements to buy this fictitious substance.

Explanation

Current fusion bombs require the detonation of a nuclear fission device to trigger a fusion reaction. A conventional explosion of red mercury is supposedly powerful enough to similarly trigger a fusion reaction, without the need for nuclear fission. A bomb of such design would be much smaller and easier to transport than current fusion bombs; if red mercury existed and had such properties, it might be used to make a softball-sized bomb with a yield of two megatons. This theory has been advanced by neutron bomb inventor Samuel Cohen; however, many of his other weapons-related statements in the past have been shown to be inaccurate .

If red mercury were indeed this powerful, then it would be a potent weapon in and of itself, without use in a nuclear weapon. However, no substance of this nature has ever been shown to exist.

Another theory popular in the mid-1990s was that red mercury facilitated the enrichment of uranium to weapons-grade purity. Conventionally, such enrichment is usually done with precision centrifuges, and takes several years. Red mercury was speculated to eliminate this costly and time-consuming step.

Possible explanations

More mundane theories on the nature of the substance include:
* that it is very high-quality uranium or plutonium, being distributed under a codename
* that its existence is a hoax perpetrated on would-be terrorists, rogue states, or traffickers in military contraband
* there was also a claim that "red mercury" was used in Soviet analogues of the Stealth technology, which makes an aircraft invisible to a radar.

One televised report indicated that the Soviet Union, which had a vested interest in nuclear non-proliferation, encouraged the KGB and GRU to arrange sting operations for the detection of those seeking to deal in nuclear materials. The Soviet intelligence services created a myth of the necessity of "red mercury" for the sorts of nuclear devices that terrorists and rogue governments might seek. The substance is a mere pigment devoid of properties suitable for nuclear weapons; it is speculated to be mercury sulfide (cinnabar), mercury(II) iodide, mercury antimony oxide (Hg₂Sb₂O₇) or any other red-colored mercury compound. Possession of this substance as the result of undercover deals with Soviet law enforcement was an obvious ground for immediate arrest and likely conviction in criminal courts, with severe punishment following conviction.

Following the arrest of several men in the UK in September 2004, on suspicion that they were trying to buy a kilo of red mercury for £300,000, the International Atomic Energy Agency made a statement dismissing claims that the substance is real. "Red mercury doesn't exist," said the spokesman. "The whole thing is a bunch of malarkey." When the case came to trial at the Old Bailey in April 2006, it became apparent that News of the World "fake sheikh" Mazher Mahmood had worked with the police to catch the three men, Dominic Martins, Roque Fernandes and Abdurahman Kanyare. They were tried for "trying to set up funding or property for terrorism" and "having an article (a highly dangerous mercury based substance) for terrorism". According to the prosecutor, red mercury was believed to be a material which could cause a large explosion, possibly even a nuclear reaction, but whether red mercury did or did not exist was irrelevant to the prosecution.Terror accused in 'mercury sting' - BBC News, 25 April 2006
All three men were acquitted in July 2006. Trio cleared of red mercury plot -BBC News 25 July 2006

Further reading

*Peter Hounam, Steve McQuillan, The Mini-Nuke Conspiracy: How Mandela Inherited a Nuclear Nightmare, Viking Adult (October 1, 1995) ISBN 0670869252. This book made the claim that South Africa had made red mercury, and with it a thousand miniature tactical nuclear weapons, that were now in the hands of non-governmental South African right-wing elements.

In fiction

Storylines based on the sale and terrorist applications of red mercury have appeared in episodes of two BBC drama series. Bugs contained an episode during its second series concerning a large quantity of Red Mercury being held by international arms dealers and being traded to fictional middle-eastern factions. Spooks later used red mercury in its third season as bait for an Al-Qaeda style terrorist group. It suggested that red mercury was a myth.

In the Dark•Matter roleplaying game, red mercury does exist, and the player characters may find themselves having to hunt down terrorists who may want to use it for weapons of mass destruction. In keeping with the conspiracy theory and UFO themes of the game, while red mercury is indeed usable as a seemingly impossibly potent nuclear fuel, it's actually originally meant to be a foodstuff for a bizarre alien race. The red mercury on Earth arrived when that species visited, and humans have been trying to duplicate it (with very limited success) since.

The video game Warhawk also featured red mercury as a central component of its plot. In the game red mercury is an extremely powerful weapon as well as a vaguely alluded-to serum that is exploited by the primary antagonist and megalomaniac, Kreel.

In an episode of the American spy-fi television series Alias (#1.22, "Almost Thirty Years"), a character refers to an explosive device as a "red mercury charge with a mechanical fuse". When the device explodes later, it acts similarly to a conventional explosive such as C-4.

The novel The Nymphos of Rocky Flats, by Mario Acevedo, uses red mercury as a plot device.

See also

* Ballotechnics
* Samuel Cohen
* Nuclear isomer

Notes

External links

*The Nuclear Threat That Doesn't Exist – or Does It? (Sam Cohen)
*About.com: What is Red Mercury?
*BBC News: Three men accused of trying to buy red mercury
*BBC News: Trio cleared of red mercury plot
*BBC News: What is red mercury?

Category:Fictional materials
Category:Hoaxes
Category:Nuclear weapons
Category:Pseudophysics