Theodore Taylor was involved in many important projects and made numerous contributions to nuclear development for the United States . During his time at Los Alamos , He was responsible for designing the smallest fission bomb of the era , named Davy Crockett , which weighed only 60 pounds , measured approximately 12 inches across , and could produce between 10 and 20 kilotons of TNT equivalent . This device was formerly known as the M28 Weapons System . The Davy Crockett itself was the M388 Atomic Round fired from the weapons system , which functioned similarly to how any other modern rocket propelled round would ( see RPG-7 ) . It was a mounted weapons system , which means that it would be set up , aimed , and fired as a crew-served weapon . Taylor also designed fission bombs even smaller than Davy Crockett , but those were not developed until long after he left Los Alamos . Furthermore , he even designed a nuclear bomb so small that it weighed only 20 pounds , but it was never actually developed and tested . Additionally , Taylor designed the Super Oralloy Bomb , also known as the " SOB " . It still holds the record for the largest fission explosion ever tested ( as the Ivy King device tested during Operation Ivy ) , producing over 500 kilotons of TNT equivalent . Furthermore , Taylor was credited with developing multiple techniques that improved the fission bomb . For example , he was largely responsible for the development of fusion boosting , which is a technique that improves the reaction yield and efficiency of a nuclear reaction . This technique was a re-invention of the implosion mechanism that was used in the bomb detonated at Nagasaki . He theorized a series of nuclear reactions within the implosion mechanism that , in combination , trigger the large chain reaction to detonate . This eliminated much of the energy waste and necessity for precision of the original reaction mechanism . This technique is still found in all U.S. fission nuclear weapons today . He also developed a technique that greatly reduced the size of atomic bombs . First tested in a bomb called " Scorpion " , it utilized a reflector made of beryllium , which was drastically lighter than the metals that generally were used as reflectors , such as tungsten carbide ( WC ) . Taylor recognized that although a low-atomic-number element like beryllium did not " bounce " neutrons back into the fissile core as efficiently as heavy tungsten , its propensity for neutron spallation ( in nuclear physics the so-called " ( n ,2 n ) " reaction ) more than compensated in overall reflector performance
Ivy King
Ivy King
Ted Taylor (physicist)