What is the Smallest Nuclear Weapon?
The smallest nuclear weapon known to the public was the W54, a 10.6″x15.7″ (27.3 x 40 cm) cylinder that only weighed 51 lbs (23 kg). The W54 was used in both the Davy Crockett recoilless rifle (a nuclear mortar for ground troops) and the Mk-54 SADM (Special Atomic Demolition Munition), a hand-delivered nuclear time-bomb for attacking enemy ports. The prototype for the W54, tested during Operation Hardtack in 1954, was even smaller, at just 10.6″x11.8″ (27 x 30 cm), close to what many nuclear scientists think is the theoretically smallest nuclear weapon. The Davy Crockett had a 10-20 ton yield — intentionally kept low to be safe to those firing it — while the SADM had a variable yield between 10 tons and 1 kiloton. To create a nuclear weapon requires a critical mass of a fissile material, and a chassis for a gun-type trigger or explosive lenses. A critical mass of plutonium is about 10.5 kg (23 lb), 10.1 cm (4 in) across. This is not enough to start a multiplicative chain reaction, but
