Subcritical experiment set at NTS

Scientists from the United States and Great Britain will team up at the Nevada Test Site Thursday for a subcritical experiment, part of the National Nuclear Security Administration's mission to maintain America's nuclear weapons stockpile.

The underground experiment -- Vito -- is scheduled noon Thursday.

Subcritical experiments are designed to answer questions after a violent spray of atomic particles are ejected from a material's surface. The experiments do not produce a critical mass, and there is no nuclear explosion.

archive