Apple, Microsoft, Google: Which of these companies can build a nuclear weapon first?

[Braznor]

Imagine three companies are in a race for researching and building up a nuclear weapon from scratch. Which of them will achieve it first and how will each of these three companies approach this technological feat?

My guess is Google first, Microsoft next and Apple last. I would really be interested in seeing how Apple tries to approach this technological challenge.

 

[Printer Bandit]

google can just google how to build it.

 

[_Rick_]

Apple would probably do it, because of their spare money.
With that you can probably buy a working example and then just copy it, much like they did with many other things.
To add some irony, it would be brilliant if they were to copy a Chinese nuke.

Still voted ATOT, because at least we have a motivation to build one, which clearly trumps the means. Pretty sure the GDP of ATOT is higher than that of North Korea.

 

[marvdmartian]

None of them. Google would build something that did something useful, but just as it got popular with its users, they would cancel it, and you'd never see it again.

Microsoft's version would look very large and menacing, but just as the clock ticked down to 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 second, it would flip back to 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1.....then finally just melt down and make a big mess, until you hit three keys on the control panel keyboard. Then it would do it all over again.

Apple would probably come the closest, but even though they used all the same components as Microsoft's bomb, the Apple version would use 3x as much nuclear material, and cost 20 times as much, so no one could afford to buy it. Even if you did, it wouldn't explode, though they would promise you that it would, if you're willing to pay for the next update. If you tried to shoot it at someone on an ICBM, it would end up going way off course, due to its use of Apple Maps.

 

[ForumMaster]

well considering the following:

1. Recruiting said "brain power"
2. Money required (now that can very wildly. which type of bomb, ways to deploy, how much testing, can know-how be "bought")
3. Acquiring relevant material and infrastructure (both a nuclear power station and enough uranium, and then enriching it)

All of these, are difficult.
brain power - While Google probably has the best "brain power", non of these companies specialize in nuclear physics. could they recruit the necessary scientists for the right cost? probably.

money - now this is a difficult one. while apple has the most amount of cash lying around, is it enough? (they have roughly $90-$100 billion).
A nuclear power station can cost $15 billion. And that doesn't include the cost of uranium and waste disposal and so on. but we don't want to dispose of our waste, do we?
We also need to build a plant the can further enrich the uranium. After all, we do want weapon's grade (99% pure).
We're also going to need to manufacture the bomb casing (assuming the companies have the expertise or can't outsource it), buy the triggers (heavily regulated or developer it themselves which means testing out the bombs.
You're also going to need supercomputers.
What about delivery infrastructure? You could have a bomb, but how are you going to deliver it? A missile? A plane? Point is, all of this gets very very expensive very very fast.

Acquiring relevant material and infrastructure - And last but not least, all the relevant material necessary is highly regulated. From uranium, to plutonium, to the triggers used for nuclear bombs. It is ofcourse possible to get around everything, but it is difficult, and eventually the world will notice. I doubt it will be exactly easy for any of these companies to "legitimately" build a nuke".


So i don't think any of these companies can build a bomb. Only big government can "afford" it, get the brain power, and legitimize the fact that they need to "protect" themselves from other bad countries so they need WMD's.

 

[ultimatebob]

Good thing that you didn't add GE or General Dynamics to that list. Those guys probably have engineers on staff that already know how to build a Nuclear Bomb.

 

[wholesalestunna]

google can just google how to build it.

Haha this was my first reaction too. Apples would be too proprietary for anyone else to launch it though.

 

[nemesismk2]

google can just google how to build it.

I agree that Google would build it

 

[Fox5]

Apple would probably do it, because of their spare money.
With that you can probably buy a working example and then just copy it, much like they did with many other things.
To add some irony, it would be brilliant if they were to copy a Chinese nuke.

Still voted ATOT, because at least we have a motivation to build one, which clearly trumps the means. Pretty sure the GDP of ATOT is higher than that of North Korea.

Apple has the free money to buy the outside resources and expertise needed. Apple also has their own factories now that could be retooled to build the parts they need.

But if they were using only in house capabilities, I think Google would get it first. They have the smartest guys across a wide range of fields. They have a freaking quantum computer. I doubt they have many nuclear physicists, but I think their top guys could learn it easily.

 

[Mixolydian]

E. Who the fuck cares.

 

[mmntech]

Apple would build a very attractive looking missile that cost a lot to make, but had a very low kilotonne yield.

Microsoft would build a crazy powerful missile that was difficult to launch and prone to crashing.

Google would ask someone else how to build it, then sell those secrets to a foreign government.

 

[yottabit]

Apple would release it a couple years after everyone else, combining the features from all the best nuke's before, and then claim they invented the nuke and sue everyone else for patent infringement

 

[IronWing]

Google. Since it bought Motorola it is the only one of the three to have manufacturing capacity and the Motorola acquisition also gives them folks with federal security clearances.

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

Apple would release it a couple years after everyone else, combining the features from all the best nuke's before, and then claim they invented the nuke and sue everyone else for patent infringement

Indeed. That, combined with it being made from coloured plastic, slightly outdated hardware and costing a lot more than anything similar in specs, and the Apple fanboys would hail it as being the greatest invention ever and claim that all nukes so far have just been blatant copies of the Apple iNuke.

 

[Rakehellion]

Apple has the most money and the most experience developing hardware. Google would just build a drone that steals your personal info.

 

[Leros]

My bets are on Microsoft. They have a huge research division.