Ultra-small-caliber weapon for shooting atoms, beam weapons
Self-guided particle accelerator. Babah! Half the town this thing will fry.
Corporal Hicks, c / f "Aliens"
Corporal Hicks, c / f "Aliens"
In science fiction literature and cinema, many as yet non-existent types are used. weapons. This and various blasters, and lasers, and rail guns, and much more. In some of these areas, work is now going on in different laboratories, but there has not yet been much success, and the mass practical application of such samples will begin at least a couple of decades later.
Among other fantastic classes of weapons are sometimes mentioned so-called. ion guns. They are also sometimes called beam, atomic or partial (this term is used much less often because of a specific sound). The essence of this weapon is to accelerate any particles to near-light speeds and then direct them towards the target. Such a beam of atoms, possessing colossal energy, can cause serious damage to the enemy even in a kinetic way, not to mention ionizing radiation and other factors. It looks tempting, is not it, gentlemen of the military?
As part of the work of the Strategic Defense Initiative in the United States, several concepts of means to intercept enemy missiles were considered. Among others, the possibility of using ion tools has been studied. The first work on the topic began in 1982-83, at the Los Alamos National Laboratory on the ATS accelerator. Later they began to use other accelerators, and then they occupied the Livermore National Laboratory in research. In addition to direct research on the prospects for ion weapons, both laboratories also attempted to increase the energy of the particles, naturally with an eye on the military future of the systems.
Despite the cost of time and effort, the research project of the beam weapon "Antigone" was withdrawn from the PIO program. On the one hand, this could be viewed as a rejection of the unpromising direction, on the other - as a continuation of work on a project that has a future, regardless of a deliberately provocative program. Moreover, in the end of 80-x "Antigone" was transferred from strategic missile defense to the ship: why the Pentagon did not do that.
In the course of research on the effects of radiation and ion weapons on a target, it was found that a particle beam / laser beam with an energy of the order of 10 kilojoules is capable of burning the CRP homing equipment. 100 kJ in appropriate conditions can already cause electrostatic detonation of the rocket charge, and the beam in 1 MJ makes of the rocket, in the literal sense, nano-sieve, which leads to the destruction of all electronics, and undermining the warhead. At the beginning of 90's, it appeared that ion guns could still be used in strategic missile defense, but not as a means of destruction. It was proposed to shoot beams of particles with sufficient energy on the "cloud", consisting of combat blocks of strategic missiles and false targets. As conceived by the authors of this concept, the ions should have burned down the electronics of the warheads and prevented them from maneuvering and pointing at the target. Accordingly, by drastically changing the behavior of the tag on the radar after the salvo, it was possible to calculate the warheads.
However, the researchers faced a problem: in the accelerators used, it was possible to accelerate exclusively charged particles. And this "small" has one uncomfortable feature - they did not want to fly in a friendly bundle. Because of the same charge, the particles repelled, and instead of an exact powerful shot, a lot of much weaker and scattered ones were obtained. Another problem associated with the firing of ions was the curvature of their trajectory under the influence of the Earth’s magnetic field. Perhaps that is why the ion guns were not allowed into the strategic missile defense system - they needed to shoot long distances, where the curvature of the trajectories interfered with normal operation. In turn, the use of "ionomers" in the atmosphere was hampered by the interaction of the particles shot with air molecules.
The first problem, with accuracy, was solved by introducing into the gun a special reloading chamber located after the upper stage. In it, the ions returned to the neutral state and no longer repelled from each other after their departure from the “barrel”. At the same time, the interaction of particle-bullets with air particles slightly decreased. Later, during experiments with electrons, it was found that in order to achieve the lowest energy dissipation and ensure maximum firing range, you need to highlight the target with a special laser. Due to this, an ionized channel is created in the atmosphere through which electrons pass with less energy loss.
After the introduction of the reloading cam in the gun, a slight increase in its fighting qualities was noted. In this version of the gun, protons and deuterons (deuterium nuclei consisting of a proton and a neutron) were used as projectiles - in the recharge chamber they attached an electron to themselves and flew to the target in the form of hydrogen or deuterium atoms, respectively. When hitting the target, an atom loses an electron, disperses the so-called. bremsstrahlung and continues to move inside the target in the form of a proton / deuteron. Also, under the action of the released electrons in a metal target, eddy currents may appear with all the consequences.
However, all the work of American scientists remained in the laboratories. Approximately to 1993, draft sketches of missile defense systems for ships were prepared, but things did not go further. Particle boosters with acceptable for combat power had such a size and required such a quantity of electricity that a barge with a separate power station had to follow a ship with a beam gun. A reader familiar with physics can calculate for himself how many megawatts of electricity is required to give a proton at least 10 kJ. The American military could not go to such expenses. The Antigone program was suspended, and then completely closed, although from time to time messages of varying degrees of reliability appear that refer to the resumption of work on the subject of ion weapons.
Soviet scientists did not lag behind in the field of particle dispersal, but they did not hesitate for a long time about the military use of accelerators. The defensive industry of the USSR was characterized by constant consideration of the cost of weapons, so they refused from the ideas of combat accelerators without starting work on them.
At the moment, there are several dozen different particle accelerators in the world, but among them there is not a single combat suitable for practical use. The Los Alamos accelerator with a recharge chamber has lost its last one and is now used in other studies. As for the prospects of ion weapons, the idea itself will have to be put on the shelf. Until humanity has new, compact and superpowerful sources of energy.
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