Gold has been proposed as a material for creating a salted nuclear weapon ( cobalt is another , better-known salting material ) . A jacket of natural 197Au , irradiated by the intense high-energy neutron flux from an exploding thermonuclear weapon , would transmute into the radioactive isotope 198Au with a half-life of 2.697 days and produce approximately 0.411 MeV of gamma radiation , significantly increasing the radioactivity of the weapon 's fallout for several days . Such a weapon is not known to have ever been built , tested , or used . Gold has been used in thermonuclear weapons as radiation mirrors within the secondary assembly . Ivy Mike used a thin layer of gold on the secondary casing walls to enhance the blackbody effect , trapping more energy in the foam to enhance the implosion
Ivy Mike
Ivy Mike
Gold-198