Popular horror story
The neutron bomb was one of the most popular horror stories in the 80s of the last century. Often supernatural properties were attributed to the neutron bomb, it was believed that all people would die within the radius of the neutron bomb, and material values would remain intact. The Soviet media branded neutron munitions as "a marauder's weapon."
Of course, neutron bombs did not have these properties. The neutron bomb was a thermonuclear weapon that was designed so that when detonated, the neutron radiation accounted for as much of the explosion energy as possible. In turn, neutron radiation is well absorbed by air. This led to the fact that the radius of damage by neutron radiation was less than the radius of damage by the shock wave, which was not weak during the detonation of a neutron ammunition, which made it impossible to use this type of ammunition as a "marauder weapon". This type of weapon had completely different tasks: the effective destruction of enemy armored vehicles, played the role of a super-powerful anti-tank weapon and performed tasks in missile defense. Which led to the creation of various measures to protect against neutron radiation.
The Lance tactical missile served as the primary means of delivering neutron ammunition to the battlefield.
The Sprint missile was equipped with a neutron warhead and was part of the Safeguard missile defense.
However, neutron munitions have been phased out since the end of the Cold War and the arms race. They also gradually abandoned the requirements for protection against neutron radiation in the production of military equipment. It seemed that the neutron bomb is gone forever in history, but is it? And was it right to abandon measures of protection against neutron radiation?
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Pure thermonuclear weapons
But first we will make a small digression and touch upon another related topic, namely the creation of pure thermonuclear weapons.
It is well known that in modern thermonuclear charges to create the required temperature of thermonuclear fusion, a trigger is used - a small nuclear charge based on a chain reaction of decay of heavy uranium or plutonium nuclei. A thermonuclear bomb is a two-stage charge according to the principle: a chain reaction of decay of heavy nuclei - thermonuclear fusion. It is the first stage (nuclear charge) that is the source of radioactive contamination of the area. Almost immediately after the first tests of hydrogen bombs, the idea arose in many minds: “What if the source of high temperatures is not an atomic bomb, but another source? Then we will receive a thermonuclear charge, which, in turn, will not leave contaminated areas and radioactive fallout. " Such weapons can be used directly in the vicinity of their troops,on their own territory or the territory of allies, as well as when solving problems in low-intensity conflicts. Here you can recall how American generals constantly lamented: "How wonderful it would be to use low-yield nuclear warheads in campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan!" Unsurprisingly, millions of dollars have been invested over the years in the development of pure thermonuclear weapons.
In order to "ignite" thermonuclear explosives, various methods were used: laser ignition of a reaction, Z-machine, high induction currents, etc. So far, all alternative methods do not work, and if something were to work out, undoubtedly, such warheads would have such huge dimensions that they could be transported only on ships and they would not have military value.
High hopes were pinned on the nuclear isomers of hafnium-178, which can be such a powerful source of gamma radiation that it could replace the nuclear trigger. However, scientists have not been able to get hafnium-178 to release all of its energy in one powerful pulse. Therefore, today only antimatter is capable of replacing the nuclear trigger in a hydrogen bomb. However, scientists face fundamental challenges: obtaining antimatter in the right quantities and, most importantly, storing it long enough so that the ammunition can be used practically and safely.
Inside the ammunition - a "supervacuum" chamber in which one milligram of antiprotons levitates in a magnetic trap, this chamber is surrounded by thermonuclear "explosive", during detonation, powerful charges from conventional explosives destroy the chamber, which leads to the interaction of antimatter with matter, and as a result of the annihilation reaction, a thermonuclear synthesis.
However, some specialists have high hopes for shock-wave emitters. A shock wave emitter is a device that generates a powerful electromagnetic pulse by compressing magnetic flux with high explosives. Simply put, it is an explosive device capable of giving a pulse of millions of amperes for a very short time, which is interesting in the field of developing pure thermonuclear weapons.
The diagram shows the principle of a spiral-type shock-wave radiator.
- A longitudinal magnetic field is created between the metal conductor and the surrounding solenoid, discharging the capacitor bank into the solenoid.
- After the charge is ignited, the detonation wave propagates in the explosive charge located inside the central metal tube (from left to right in the figure).
- Under the influence of the detonation wave pressure, the tube deforms and becomes a cone that contacts the spirally wound coil, reducing the number of fixed turns, compressing the magnetic field and creating an inductive current.
- At the point of maximum flow compression, the load breaker opens, which then supplies the maximum current to the load.
On the basis of a shock-wave emitter, it is quite possible to create a compact thermonuclear ammunition. It is quite possible, using modern technologies, to create a thermonuclear ammunition using a shock-wave emitter weighing about 3 tons, which makes it possible to use a wide fleet of modern military aircraft to deliver this ammunition. However, an explosion of a three-ton thermonuclear weapon would be equivalent to an explosion of three tons of TNT or even less. Here the question is: where is the gesheft? The point is that energy is released in the form of hard neutron radiation. When such an ammunition is detonated, the radius of destruction can be more than 500 meters in open areas, while targets will receive a dose of more than 450 rad. Such ammunition most closely matches the "marauder weapon". Such a weapon will in fact be a pure neutron weapon - leaving no radioactive contamination and virtually no collateral damage. It should be remembered that neutron radiation is dangerous not only for living organisms, but also for electronics, without which modern military technology is impossible. Neutrons can penetrate electronic circuits and lead to malfunctions, while no means of protection that are used against EMP (like the Faraday cage and other shielding methods) will not save from everywhere penetrating neutrons. Therefore, we can say that such a neutron munition will be more effective against electronics than an EMP bomb.without which modern military technology is impossible. Neutrons can penetrate electronic circuits and lead to malfunctions, while no means of protection that are used against EMP (like the Faraday cage and other shielding methods) will not save from everywhere penetrating neutrons. Therefore, we can say that such a neutron munition will be more effective against electronics than an EMP bomb.without which modern military technology is impossible. Neutrons can penetrate electronic circuits and lead to malfunctions, while no means of protection that are used against EMP (like the Faraday cage and other shielding methods) will not save from everywhere penetrating neutrons. Therefore, we can say that such a neutron munition will be more effective against electronics than an EMP bomb.
Let's sum up
What do we end up with?
1. Such a neutron mini-bomb is effectively capable of striking the enemy's manpower and his electronics.
2. Such a bomb is "clean" without radioactive contamination.
3. Such weapons are not subject to any restrictions in international law. This munition does not fall under the definition of nuclear weapons, it will be conventional and its use will be more legal than, say, the use of cluster munitions.
4. The relatively small radius of destruction allows the use of this weapon for hitting point targets and use in low-intensity conflicts.
This weapon is perfect for hitting enemy personnel and military equipment in open areas, hitting garrisons that are located in the civilian area, hitting communication centers.
From the above, we can draw the following conclusion: it is quite possible to expect the emergence and spread of ammunition, for which neutron radiation will be a damaging factor. This means that again it is necessary in armored vehicles and other military equipment to take measures to protect crews and electronic filling from neutron radiation. Also, the engineering troops need to take into account protection from neutron radiation when erecting fortifications. It is quite possible to protect yourself from neutron radiation. These methods have already been worked out, which will make it possible to quickly give adequate measures to the "new - old" threat.