In 1921, the German physicist O. Gann discovered a hitherto unknown isotope of uranium, which he immediately named uranium-Z. In terms of atomic mass and chemical properties, it did not differ from those already known. Science was interested in its half-life - it was slightly longer than that of other uranium isotopes. In 1935 the Kurchatov brothers, L. I. Rusinov and L. V. Mysovskiy obtained a specific isotope of bromine with similar properties. It was after this that the world science was closely occupied with the problem called isomerism of atomic nuclei. Since then, several dozen isomeric isotopes with a relatively long lifetime have been found, but now we are only interested in one, namely 178m2Hf (hafnium isotope with an atomic mass of 178 units. M2 in the index allows us to distinguish it from the mass, but other other indicators).
This isotope of hafnium differs from its other isomeric counterparts with a half-life of more than a year in the highest excitation energy - about 1.3 TJ per kilogram of mass, which is approximately equal to the explosion of 300 kilograms of TNT. The release of all this mass of energy occurs in the form of gamma radiation, although this process is very, very slow. Thus, the military application of this hafnium isotope is theoretically possible. It was only necessary to force the atom or atoms to pass from the excited state to the ground state with an appropriate speed. Then the released energy could surpass in effect any existing weapon. Theoretically I could.
It came to practice in 1998. Then a group of employees of the University of Texas under the leadership of Karl B. Collins founded the "Center for Quantum Electronics" in one of the university buildings. Under a serious and pretentious sign, there was a set of equipment obligatory for such laboratories, mountains of enthusiasm and something that vaguely resembled an X-ray machine from a dentist's office and an amplifier for an audio system that fell into the hands of an evil genius. From these devices, the scientists of the "Center" have assembled a remarkable unit, which was to play a major role in their research.
The amplifier generated an electrical signal with the required parameters, which was converted into X-ray radiation in an X-ray machine. It was directed to a tiny piece of 178m2Hf lying on an inverted disposable glass. To be honest, this looks far from what cutting-edge science should look like, to which, in fact, Collins' group referred itself. For several days, an X-ray device irradiated the hafnium preparation, and the sensors dispassionately recorded everything that they “felt”. It took several more weeks to analyze the results of the experiment. And so, Collins in the journal Physical Review Letters publishes an article about his experiment. As it was said in it, the purpose of the research was to extract the energy of atoms at the behest of scientists. The experiment itself was supposed to confirm or refute Collins' theory regarding the possibility of such things being done using X-rays. During the study, the measuring equipment recorded an increase in the level of gamma radiation. It was negligible, which, at the same time, did not prevent Collins from drawing a conclusion about the fundamental possibility of "man-made" bringing the isotope into a state of accelerated decay. The main conclusion of Mr. Collins looked like this: since the process of energy release can be accelerated to a small extent, there must be some conditions under which the atom will get rid of energy orders of magnitude faster. Most likely, Collins believed, it was enough to simply increase the power of the X-ray emitter to cause an explosion. During the study, the measuring equipment recorded an increase in the level of gamma radiation. It was negligible, which, at the same time, did not prevent Collins from drawing a conclusion about the fundamental possibility of "man-made" bringing the isotope into a state of accelerated decay. The main conclusion of Mr. Collins looked like this: since the process of energy release can be accelerated to a small extent, there must be some conditions under which the atom will get rid of energy orders of magnitude faster. Most likely, Collins believed, it was enough to simply increase the power of the X-ray emitter to cause an explosion. During the study, the measuring equipment recorded an increase in the level of gamma radiation. It was negligible, which, at the same time, did not prevent Collins from drawing a conclusion about the fundamental possibility of "man-made" bringing the isotope into a state of accelerated decay. The main conclusion of Mr. Collins looked like this: since the process of energy release can be accelerated to a small extent, there must be some conditions under which the atom will get rid of energy orders of magnitude faster. Most likely, Collins believed, it was enough to simply increase the power of the X-ray emitter to cause an explosion. The main conclusion of Mr. Collins looked like this: since the process of energy release can be accelerated to a small extent, there must be some conditions under which the atom will get rid of energy orders of magnitude faster. Most likely, Collins believed, it was enough to simply increase the power of the X-ray emitter to cause an explosion. The main conclusion of Mr. Collins looked like this: since the process of energy release can be accelerated to a small extent, there must be some conditions under which the atom will get rid of energy orders of magnitude faster. Most likely, Collins believed, it was enough to simply increase the power of the X-ray emitter to cause an explosion.
True, the scientific community of the world read Collins' article with irony. If only because the statements were too loud, and the experimental technique was questionable. Nevertheless, as usual, a number of laboratories around the world tried to repeat the experiment of the Texans, but almost all of them failed. The increase in the level of radiation from the hafnium preparation was within the sensitivity error of the instruments, which did not exactly speak in favor of Collins' theory. Therefore, the ridicule did not stop, but even intensified. But soon scientists forgot about the failed experiment.
And the military - no. They really liked the idea of a bomb on nuclear isomers. The following arguments spoke in favor of such a weapon:
- energy "density". A kilogram of 178m2Hf, as already mentioned, is equivalent to three centners of TNT. This means that in the size of a nuclear charge, you can get a more powerful bomb.
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- efficiency. The explosion is an explosion, but the bulk of the hafnium energy is released in the form of gamma radiation, which is not afraid of enemy fortifications, bunkers, etc. Thus, a hafnium bomb can destroy both electronics and enemy personnel without much damage.
- tactical features. The compact size of a relatively powerful bomb will allow it to be delivered literally in a suitcase. This, of course, is not the Q-bomb from L. Vibberly's books (a miracle weapon the size of a soccer ball that can destroy an entire continent), but it is also a very useful thing.
- the legal side. When a bomb explodes on nuclear isomers, there is no transformation of one chemical element into another. Accordingly, isomeric weapons cannot be considered nuclear and, as a result, they do not fall under international agreements banning the latter.
There was little to do: allocate money and carry out all the necessary work. As they say, start and finish. DARPA has written a line for hafnium bombs in its financial plan for the next few years. How much money was ultimately spent on all this is unknown. According to rumors, the account goes to tens of millions, but the figure was not officially disclosed.
First of all, they decided to reproduce the Collins experiment once again, but now under the wing of the Pentagon. At first, Argonne National Laboratory was commissioned to verify his work, but even similar results did not come out. Collins, however, referred to the insufficient power of X-rays. It was increased, but again the expected results were not obtained. Collins still replied, they say, they themselves are to blame - turn the power knob. As a result, Argonne scientists even tried to irradiate a hafnium preparation using an APS high-power unit. Needless to say, the results were again not what the Texans were talking about? Nevertheless, DARPA decided that the project has the right to life, only they need to be well done. Over the next several years, experiments were carried out in several laboratories and institutes. The apotheosis was irradiation with 178m2Hf "from" the NSLS synchrotron at Brookhaven National Laboratory. And there, too, despite the increase in radiation energy hundreds of times, the isotope's gamma radiation was, to put it mildly, small.
At the same time as nuclear physicists, economists also dealt with the problem. In the early 2000s, they issued a forecast that sounded like a verdict on the whole undertaking. One gram of 178m2Hf cannot cost less than $ 1-1.2 million. In addition, about 30 billion will have to be invested in the production of even such negligible quantities. To this must be added the costs of creating the ammunition itself and its production. Well, the last nail in the coffin of the hafnium bomb was the fact that even if NSLS could provoke an "explosion", the practical use of such a bomb is out of the question.
So, DARPA officials, several years late and spending a lot of public money, in 2004 drastically cut funding for a program to study isomeric weapons. They cut it down, but did not stop it: for another year and a half or two, research was underway on the topic of a "laser-like" gamma emitter operating according to the same scheme. Soon, however, this direction was also closed.
In 2005, the journal "Uspekhi fizicheskikh nauk" published an article by E. V. Tkal, entitled "Induced decay of the nuclear isomer 178m2Hf and the isomer bomb". In it, the theoretical side of reducing the time of energy release by an isotope was considered in detail. In short, this can only happen in three ways: the interaction of radiation with the nucleus (in this case, decay occurs through an intermediate level), the interaction of radiation and the electron shell (the latter transfers excitation to the nucleus of the atom) and a change in the probability of spontaneous decay. At the same time, at the current and future level of development of science and technology, even with large and super-optimistic assumptions in the calculations, it is simply impossible to achieve an explosive release of energy. In addition, at a number of points, Tkalya believes,Collins's theory is in conflict with modern views on the foundations of nuclear physics. Of course, this could be seen as a kind of revolutionary breakthrough in science, but experiments do not give rise to such optimism.
Now Karl B. Collins generally agrees with the conclusions of colleagues, but still does not deny isomers in practical application. For example, directed gamma radiation, he believes, can be used to treat cancer patients. And the slow, non-explosive, radiation of energy by atoms can, in the future, give mankind super-capacity batteries of enormous power.
However, all this will only be in the future, near or far. And then, if scientists decide to again tackle the problem of the practical application of nuclear isomers. If those works are successful, then it is possible that the glass from the Collins experiment (now called the "Memorial Stand for Dr. K's Experiment") stored under glass at the University of Texas at the University of Texas will be moved to a larger and more respected museum.
Author: Ryabov Kirill
