Three were arrested as they rode dirt bikes across the restricted site in the pre-dawn hours. Seven more were arrested when a group of 30 protesters briefly blocked a media bus entering the site. Three of the protesters chained themselves underneath the bus and had to be cut loose, Scammell said. Scammell said the blast could not be felt on the surface. The experiments are designed to show whether any characteristics of the highly radioactive metal change as it ages, such as becoming liable to breaking down.
Scientists say they have never fully explored the nuances of plutonium's behavior.
Wednesday's experiment was conducted in an alcove off a maze of tunnels carved years ago for an underground nuclear weapons test. Scientists monitored the experiments from above ground. The experiments hammer the plutonium with forces ranging from 800,000 times normal atmospheric pressure to 2.3 million times. Click here . All contents copyright 1997 and 2001 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.