SOVIET PHYSICIST DROPS A BOMB

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80M01048A001100200033-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 24, 2005
• Sequence Number: 33
• Publication Date: March 15, 1977
• Content Type: NOTES

25X1 Approved For Release 2006/02/07 : CIA-RDP80M01048AO01100200033-4
Approved For Release 2006/02/07 : CIA-RDP80M01048AO01100200033-4
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By Ernest Volknian
Newsday, National Correspondent
U.S. officials have put strict,securit wraps-over a
lecture 'b y' a.leadingRussian .physicist-including
seizure of the- blackboard on which . he;'.wrote:;
equations--given to 'an audience of American scien
tists that revealed. significant Soviet breakthroughs in:
top-secret fusion.research,, U.S. intelligence sources:
The physicist's revelations; which-came uring "a
talk last summer at a:leading U S.-'nuclear:weapons
research laboratory, astonished his scientific-audience
.because, the sources say, they showed what appeared
Soviets. : {
According'to Pentagon experts,' the. disc. osures5
caused concern that the Soviets are nearing, a..
"I don't know who made the decision," said one U.S.
intelligence official, "but it seems to have a kind of
Alice in Wonderland atmosphere about it The idea1is'
to keep our secrets from the Russians, not theotherl?
way around=-The idea of classifyin' the blackboard
really seems 'out of nine: t What did they : expect-
somebody would stick it:under his aim and walk home]
'None. of the scientists o, .government officials
Involved in the incident wil discuss the case .One
' scientist familiar: with the Soviet physicist's talk said
f:he could not even discuss.how the decision to:classify
the talk came about, since-the Llassificationguidelines
themselves are,' classified.: Soviet officials would _hot`t
'Last July, Rudakov came t;othe.Uniied S'tates as-1
part of a scientific,exchange program to discuss Soviet;?
;;research' developments in talks::_before :`American'1
weapon. One possibility, they.said, is a Soviet attempt~`
to build a ."gigaton". hydrogen bomb, whose explosive;
power would be equal to, 1_ billion tons of;TNT (The,
power of. the atomic.bomb dropped;an Hiroshima=
equalled 15,000:. tons.);.;;:;
Additionally,-thermonuclear' fusion. has important
take decades. to develop one-would produce infinitely
more ' energy thank it would use.;'Current .energy;-
producers; such as. oil or standard, nuclear power
plants, consume .huge amounts`-of fuel to -produce
relatively small amounts of energy, Such as electricity::-
It is unclear why the physicist, Leonid I- Rudakov;,
revealed sensitive portions of Soviet research'efforts.''
U.S. officials believe the disclosure was deliberate,
since Rudakov; as an administrator at the Kurchatovy
weapons design,, wes perfectly, dware-of the. signifi_
cance of his remarks, The Soviets, the officials believe;`.
probably wanted to'warn,the Americans of;whatl
weapons they were prepared to develo
if the US:
p
-. failed to reach a strategic arms limitation agreement:
The security clampdown, the sources said,'has'led
research- material, is unnecessarily' classified, since.::
other scientists in the . international 'scientific comma=?
nity know of the developments .anyway. Classifying
scientists z r'_E 1
?As part of the itinerary, Rudakov appeared at the;.
Lawrence Livermore Laboratory jri'California one ofd
..the leading American centers for .nuclear weapons
;research. In a talk, outlining his ideas, Rudakov gave a
detailed analysis' ofhow .the -Soviets .had `mastered:
conversion of electron=beam energy"into forms suite
ble for making target pellets os' fissionable material, a l
;:.significant step in the solution of the massive-problem
.,of hamessing fusion:power,In the process,.Rudako
-.'According to 'one`source, `'Mouths dropped open all
1over the- room".';as- nearly 100 American scientists
oay, 0111 ;e Ilia usual rationale Ior ciassl I C r
is to prevent the Soviets frd Fl e~4 .2006/02/07: CIA-RDP80M01048AO01100200033-4
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qI- 1istened; -for Rudako t was ou'tl iriizrg fop secret level=
:opmonts in the.Soti etprogr:.m and revealing thei
, direction of fuLure, oviqt thrmonuclear weapons
designs. ImtnediaLe after his talk
sources said
,
,
security officials sJvised.the- Americans in the
audience that - the .-alk:. was classified, including
=Rudakov's blackbo; t rd : notat ons,: ;and seized :-the:
?'blackboar-d..Subsequt ntly, the sources said,, security"
U.S. nuclear .researc`i Iaboratcries advising them to
--"play dumb".. if aske:.,about' R udakov's talk:
Essentially; fusioi:`ie the-formation of a` heavier
i:fission, 'which'is the.: plitting o' a heavy nucleus into
two approximately ec,,Wparts, which, releases a large
amount of energy. FE; Sion is the process that underlies
'anatomic bomb, wh :.e' fusion : was used to make the
?:,hydrogen .bomb,:: so,c sled beca use hydrogen isotopes
' The problem witl fusion is that it takes very hot
emperatures to ; beg. the'pro ess: - In the hydrogen
:bomb, a fission bomb i first exp oded to cause the heat
hat: begins the fusi n, proces:,::However;; fusion is
s,
: use. , nce-the.rote: s., is' controlled;`.the scientists
C
...eveiituaIly:could;ev_n,build=a so called doomsday-.1
bomb that would rele, se.awesomne:amounts of energy,
Approved For Release 2006/02/07 : CIA-RDP80M0l048A001100200p33-4