Should we expect the return of the neutron bomb?
Popular horror story
The neutron bomb was one of the most popular horror stories in the 80 of the last century. Often attributed to the neutron bomb supernatural properties, it was believed that in the radius of the defeat of the neutron bomb all people would die, and material values would remain intact. Soviet media branded neutron ammunition as "weapon Marauder. "
Of course, neutron bombs did not possess such properties. The neutron bomb was a thermonuclear munition, which was designed so that when detonated, 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 the neutron damage was less than the radius of the shock wave, which was not weak during the detonation of neutron munitions, which made it impossible to use this type of munition as a “looter 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 carried out missile defense tasks. 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 munitions to the battlefield.
The Sprint missile was equipped with a neutron warhead and was part of the Safeguard missile defense
However, neutron ammunition was withdrawn from service after the end of the Cold War and the arms race. Gradually abandoned the requirements for protection against neutron radiation in the production of military equipment. It seemed that the neutron bomb was gone forever in history, but is it? And was it right to refuse protection measures against neutron radiation?
Pure fusion weapons
But first, we will make a small digression and touch upon another related topic, namely the creation of clean thermonuclear weapons.
It is well known that in modern thermonuclear charges a trigger is used to create the required temperature of thermonuclear fusion - a small nuclear charge based on the chain reaction of the decay of heavy uranium or plutonium nuclei. A thermonuclear bomb is a two-stage charge according to the principle: a chain reaction of the 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 test of hydrogen bombs, the idea arose in many heads: “What if the source of high temperatures is not an atomic bomb, but a different source? Then we will get a thermonuclear charge, which, in turn, will not leave infected areas and radioactive fallout. ” Such weapons can be used directly in the vicinity of their troops, on their territory or the territory of the allies, as well as in solving problems in low-intensity conflicts. Here you can recall how American generals constantly complained: “How wonderful it would be to use low-power nuclear weapons in campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan!” It is not surprising that millions of dollars have been invested in the development of clean thermonuclear weapons over the years.
In order to “set fire” thermonuclear explosives, various methods were used: laser ignition of the reaction, Z-machine, high-induction currents, etc. So far, all alternative methods do not work, and if something happened, no doubt, such warheads would have such enormous dimensions that they could be transported only on ships and they would not have military value.
Great hopes were placed on the nuclear isomers of hafnium-178, which is capable of being such a powerful source of gamma radiation that it made it possible to replace the nuclear trigger. However, scientists could not get hafnium-178 to release all its energy in one powerful impulse. Therefore, to date, only antimatter is capable of replacing a nuclear trigger in a hydrogen bomb. However, scientists are faced with fundamental problems: to obtain antimatter in the right quantities and, most importantly, to store it long enough so that this ammunition can be used practically and safely.
Inside the ammunition there is a “supervacuum” chamber in which one milligram of antiprotons levitates in a magnetic trap, this chamber is surrounded by thermonuclear “explosives”, 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 reaction fusion ignites annihilation
However, some experts have high hopes for shock-wave emitters. A shock wave emitter is a device that generates a powerful electromagnetic pulse by compressing a magnetic flux using blasting explosives. Simply put, this is an explosive device that can give an impulse with a power 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 shock-wave emitter of a spiral type.
• A longitudinal magnetic field is created between the metal conductor and the surrounding solenoid, discharging the capacitor bank into the solenoid.
• After the charge ignites, 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 detonation wave pressure, the tube deforms and becomes a cone, which contacts a spirally wound coil, reducing the number of non-rotating turns, compressing the magnetic field and creating an inductive current.
• At the point of maximum flow compression, the load switch opens, which then supplies the maximum current to the load.
Based on the shock-wave emitter, it is quite possible to create a compact thermonuclear weapon. It is quite possible using modern technologies to create thermonuclear munitions 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 munition. However, the explosion of a three-ton thermonuclear weapon will be equivalent to an explosion of three tons of TNT or even less. Then the question immediately: where is the gesheft? The point is that energy is released in the form of hard neutron radiation. If such ammunition is detonated, the radius of destruction can be more than 500 meters in an open area, while the targets will receive a dose of more than 450 rad. Such ammunition most closely matches the "marauder's weapon." Such a weapon will in fact be a pure neutron weapon - leaving no radioactive contamination and practically creating 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 equipment is impossible. Neutrons are able to penetrate electronic circuits and lead to malfunctions, while no protective equipment that is used against EMP (like a Faraday cage and other screening methods) will save from everywhere penetrating neutrons. Therefore, we can say that such a neutron munition will be more effective against electronics than an EMP bomb.
Conclusion
What do we have in the end?
1. Such a neutron mini-bomb is effectively capable of hitting the enemy’s manpower and its electronics.
2. Such a bomb is “clean” without radioactive contamination.
3. Such weapons are not subject to any restrictions in international law. This ammunition does not fall within the definition of nuclear weapons, it will be conventional and its use will be more legitimate than, say, the use of cluster munitions.
4. The relatively small radius of destruction allows the use of this weapon to destroy point targets and use in low-intensity conflicts.
This weapon is perfect for defeating the enemy’s manpower and military equipment in an open area, destroying garrisons located in the civilian strip, and destroying communications centers.
From the foregoing, the following conclusion can be drawn: it is quite possible to expect the appearance and spread of ammunition, in which neutron radiation will be a damaging factor. So, again, it is necessary in armored vehicles and other military equipment to take measures to protect the crews and electronic filling from neutron radiation. Also, engineering troops need to take into account neutron radiation protection during the construction of fortifications. It is quite possible to protect oneself from neutron radiation. These methods have already been worked out, which will allow fairly quickly to give adequate measures to the "new - old" threat.
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