How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb

Unless you are suddenly thrust into a real life episode of "24" or are some kind of anti-terrorist government agent, you may never come face to face with a nuclear device that you will be required to defuse. There is no point getting into the technical aspect of punching codes into a number pad or other such nonsense. However, we can still discuss how to dismantle an atomic bomb in more general terms.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Remove the casing of the bomb. This may sound difficult, but you can be very rough with the bomb in order to remove the outer casing. Atomic bombs are designed to withstand heavy damage without detonating. Once you can observe the inner workings of the bomb, you are on your way to being able to dismantle an atomic bomb.
2. Determine what type of detonation system the atomic bomb utilizes. Atomic bombs are set to detonate at a specific altitude above their target once they are armed. This proximity fuse will trigger the detonation system. You must determine what type of detonation system the bomb is designed to use to trigger the reaction. Almost every atomic bomb will use some kind of traditional explosion to trigger the reaction. Some atomic bombs compress a core of radioactive material to create the explosion. Others drive a piece of unstable material into a core of the same material to start the reaction. Both systems use traditional explosives to begin the process.
3. Locate the traditional explosive that triggers the reaction. Once you have found this explosive, you can continue to dismantle the atomic bomb by separating the detonator from the explosive material.
4. Extract the radioactive material. Now that you have removed the trigger mechanism the bomb will be relatively harmless. You can now take out the radioactive container and the bomb will be completely disabled.
5. Complete the process by stripping out anything else you feel like. After the dangerous materials have been taken out you can pull out any other component you want to finalize your project to dismantle an atomic bomb.