Editing Red mercury (section)

=== Shortcut to fusible material ===
A key part of the secondary in a [[fusion bomb]] is [[Isotopes of lithium|lithium-6]]-deuteride. When irradiated with high-energy [[neutron]]s, Li-6 creates [[tritium]], which mixes with the deuterium in the same mixture and fuses at a relatively low temperature. Russian weapon designers have reported (1993) that red mercury was the Soviet codename for lithium-6, which has an affinity for mercury and tends to acquire a red colour due to mercuric impurities during its separation process.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hibbs |first=Mark |title='Red mercury' is lithium-6, Russian weaponsmiths say |journal=Nucleonics Week |issue=10 |date=22 July 1993}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=M.|last=Ragheb |date=2010|website=Nuclear Power Engineering |url=https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/mragheb/www/NPRE%20402%20ME%20405%20Nuclear%20Power%20Engineering/Isotopic%20Separation%20and%20Enrichment.pdf |title=Isotopic Separation and Enrichment |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121218200812/https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/mragheb/www/NPRE%20402%20ME%20405%20Nuclear%20Power%20Engineering/Isotopic%20Separation%20and%20Enrichment.pdf |archive-date=2012-12-18}}</ref>