I don't think DoE and the USSR maintain all sorts of device myths jointly,. I have an educated guess that a few things used for proliferation monitoring are kept very, very, quiet by mutual agreement of all parties who have devices. Let's face it, the nuclear industry worldwide has a great PR and recruiting machine. Hiring people who ask really good questions insures a fresh stock of skilled people. So if Hu checks book X out of your library, we're from the Goverment, let us know... Hum, great recruiting tool.
What I think holds back common knowledge in this case are the journalists and book authors regularly regurgitating the same poor explanations over and over again.
My high school Physics and Electronics teacher was a highly skilled skilled Electrical Engineer with a Masters and extensive military and civil reactor experience. Yet he still taught us that electrons flow from negative to positive outside the battery.
Even back In 1984 and 1988 I. knew "flow" was probably the wrong choice of words, but right or wrong on the theory, Veritasium at least tried to set the record straight for fun and profit.
Now mind you, as someone who frequently finds himself informally teaching, I know you have to start with easy analogies sometimes, but the amount of stringed along bad simplifications in this world are legion.
I've yet to hear a really good explanation of how base current in a transistor works, it's only taken something like the Internet to make a good theory accessible to me, and I've had access to some of the best science libraries in a five state region.
I've had some real problems in the past using EE and ET and Physics models with Chemists and Chemical Engineers.
Approximations I've been taught hold up well for my applications. However when you jump fields [pun intended] it may not go well when collaborating.
Just try to explain Tan D or Electret behavior to a Chem Eng.
At the University, some of the Chem Eng types have offices right next to EE Profs, but they might as well have been in different universes. Conversation starts about Laplace and Maxwell and the strategic retreat begins. Ok, call the Technician...(Me) which used to end in a trip to the now abolished science library for "easy" materials texts. We don't keep books anymore though, Science Librarians are just too expensive.
Just a rant, I've had people tell me nuclear and atomic bombs are two different things.
Steve