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Neutron weapons are deployed at higher altitudes and explode nearly vertically to the ground. This helps minimize the physical shockwave damage to the ground an

by mcritz 16y ago

Neutron weapons are deployed at higher altitudes and explode nearly vertically to the ground. This helps minimize the physical shockwave damage to the ground and maximize exposure to the Gamma-ray radiation. Contrasting this, some weapons are intended to be detonated at an angle & closer to ground level. These combine to increase the physical effects of the explosive shockwave: overturning armored vehicles, weakening defensive structures, destroying rail & roadways, and knocking down cover.

icegreentea 16y ago
...I don't understand this concept of 'angle'. We don't really have an effective way of shaping a nuclear explosion do we? I mean, my understanding is that the blast effect of a nuke is a result of the xrays/gamma rays slamming into the air, and that nukes produce a nearly burst of rays in all directions. If you mean that the resulting shockwave will be closer to vertical when it reaches given distance from ground zero, then that's just a function of geometry/height, not of any 'angle' during the detonation.
- jasonkester 16y ago
  Actually, it seems like you do understand what he was talking about. You just haven't seen references to Nuclear Shaped Charges before. Back in the day, lots of smart guys were working on ways to make nuclear explosions do interesting things. One of these things was to shape the explosion into something useful. Check out how they were doing it for project Orion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_(nuclear_propulsion) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_(nuclear_propulsi... So yeah, that's what he meant.
- mcritz 16y ago
  The angle of attack as related to the surface of the Earth. E.g. a perpendicular angle of attack means the weapon approaches detonation range from directly above. Sorry for the confusion.
jordan0day 16y ago
According to the wikipedia entry: "Although neutron bombs are commonly believed to "leave the infrastructure intact", current designs have explosive yields in the kiloton range,[13] the detonation of which would cause heavy destruction through blast and heat effects." I agree the intention of the weapon is to leave infrastructure intact... I just don't think that was ever really achieved.

by mcritz 16y ago

icegreentea 16y ago

...I don't understand this concept of 'angle'. We don't really have an effective way of shaping a nuclear explosion do we? I mean, my understanding is that the blast effect of a nuke is a result of the xrays/gamma rays slamming into the air, and that nukes produce a nearly burst of rays in all directions. If you mean that the resulting shockwave will be closer to vertical when it reaches given distance from ground zero, then that's just a function of geometry/height, not of any 'angle' during the detonation.

jasonkester 16y ago
Actually, it seems like you do understand what he was talking about. You just haven't seen references to Nuclear Shaped Charges before. Back in the day, lots of smart guys were working on ways to make nuclear explosions do interesting things. One of these things was to shape the explosion into something useful. Check out how they were doing it for project Orion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_(nuclear_propulsion) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_(nuclear_propulsi... So yeah, that's what he meant.
mcritz 16y ago
The angle of attack as related to the surface of the Earth. E.g. a perpendicular angle of attack means the weapon approaches detonation range from directly above. Sorry for the confusion.

jordan0day 16y ago

According to the wikipedia entry: "Although neutron bombs are commonly believed to "leave the infrastructure intact", current designs have explosive yields in the kiloton range,[13] the detonation of which would cause heavy destruction through blast and heat effects." I agree the intention of the weapon is to leave infrastructure intact... I just don't think that was ever really achieved.