Ah yes, McPhee - - and the decline of US amateur electronics
When that book came out, I cringed a bit; thought that he had quoted a bit too much of Ted Taylor's lore: recall when he discussed a 'problem' of yield (I forget the context now - but it was about early fission tests or transitional to the 'Mike' kluge which.. nevertheless vaporized Elugelap atoll). Gotta hunt up my copy..
He said.. ~ "if you were going to drive a nail, you wouldn't put the head up to it and push, would you?" Innocent enough, but it referred to a (then) pretty clever idea and - it sure as hell wasn't declassified. Of course, now we have Chuck Hansen's book with *pictures* and much of the substance of any mysteries diagrammed (!) even on to rudimentary thermonuclear tricks, including doping, reflectors, Po-Be n source, F-F-F: the works.
What has declined however, in this vaunted US amateur experimentation - is the art + science too: represented by the Heathkit Co. No more kits from there; few left who use a soldering iron and merely construct (a TV, say - more than a few housewives did exactly that! once). All their excellent manuals gave both an overview explanation and then a detailed one of the exact operation of all the stages. Their test equipment wasn't quite HP in precision of pieces or accuracy, but - it was exc. training and explanation better than most texts. Many later engrs -- became interested via Heathkits, as kids.
(I still use one of Heath's later and superb designs - which produces a rise-time of ~600 pSec - for scope risetime measurement and adjustment; it exceeds the performance of a couple $1500 "trade" devices of a decade ago and is equiv. quality to HP of a few years earlier. Ditto their tiny Geiger counter which was a kit form of the Monitor 4 and able to read alphas as well as very lo-energy X-rays. Lab quality. Alas, they made things like this just before they had to fold - for lack of interest.)
Today we mainly buy stuff assembled (as always was cheaper - if labor is paid or figured-in). Even Hams / radio amateurs now most-often buy; they do not build. (Most that is; there's always a creative group at the core).
It is apparent that fewer and fewer (old or young) today know even Ohm's Law: this while more and more of the environment is not merely electical but electronic in operation! So I don't know if Doug's comments apply as much as they once did {??} nor then, is the barrier to parity of the Chinese so unthinkable..
Ashton
(And yes IMhO there are entirely too many people who know how to make a crude fission device -- while there are kilotons of Pu everywhere: at least that demands an implosion device; U235 makes the task almost too trivial to think about for long, in a world of loonies and some of those now in charge Here. All U235 ought to be guarded IN Fort Knox IMO)
When the rich assemble to concern themselves with the business of the poor, it is called Charity. When the poor assemble to concern themselves with the business of the rich, it is called Anarchy.
-Paul Richards
