In article , "Kevin Brooks"
wrote:


It has been quite a few years since I sat through the very basic lectures
we
received on the SADM (being in the very last EOBC class to go through
that
phase), but IIRC the PAL was set up such that failure to input the proper
code would result in the device inerting itself.

From my recollection of open sources, the inerting was of the arming
mechanism, not the actual nuclear components. In other words, to use it,
you'd have to build and reinstall at least an entirely new arming and
firing system, but the physics package was intact.

In contrast, some later PALs were supposed to damage the nuclear
components to a point that they would only be useful as (possibly
contaminated) raw materials. One example cited was that a
neutron-absorbing safety wire or rod, normally retracted from the inside
of the hollow pit during the firing process, could be broken off inside
the pit if the PAL decided there was an unauthorized firing attempt.