Neutron bomb

A neutron bomb is a type of nuclear weapon invented by Samuel Cohen specifically designed to release a relatively large portion of its energy as energetic neutron radiation.

Technical overview

Neutron bombs, also called enhanced radiation bombs (ER weapons), are small thermonuclear weapons in which the burst of neutrons generated by the fusion reaction is intentionally not absorbed inside the weapon, but allowed to escape. The X-ray mirrors and shell of the weapon are made of chromium or nickel so that the neutrons are permitted to escape. Contrast this with cobalt bombs, also known as salted bombs.

This intense burst of high-energy neutrons is the principal destructive mechanism.

The term "enhanced radiation" refers only to the burst of ionizing radiation released at the moment of detonation, not to any enhancement of residual radiation in fallout.

A neutron bomb requires considerable amounts of tritium, which has a relatively short half-life. The neutron bombs that existed in the United States arsenal in the past were variants of the W70 and the W79 designs.

Neutron bomb tactics

Neutron bombs could be used as strategic anti-missile weapons or as tactical weapons intended for use against armored forces.

As an anti-missile weapon, ER weapons were developed to protect United States missile silos from incoming Soviet warheads by damaging their electronic components with the intense neutron flux.

Tactical neutron bombs are primarily intended to kill soldiers who are protected by armor. Armored vehicles are extremely resistant to blast and heat produced by nuclear weapons, so the effective range of a nuclear weapon against tanks is determined by the lethal range of the radiation, although this is also reduced by the armor. By emitting large amounts of lethal radiation of the most penetrating kind, ER warheads maximize the lethal range of a given yield of nuclear warhead against armored targets.

One problem with using radiation as a tactical anti-personnel weapon is that to bring about rapid incapacitation of the target, a radiation dose that is many times the lethal level must be administered. A radiation dose of 6 Gy is normally considered lethal. It will kill at least half of those who are exposed to it, but no effect is noticeable for several hours. Neutron bombs were intended to deliver a dose of 80 Gy to produce immediate and permanent incapacitation. A 1 kt ER warhead can do this to a T-72 tank crew at a range of 690 m, compared to 360 m for a pure fission bomb. For a "mere" 6 Gy dose, the distances are 1100 m and 700 m respectively, and for unprotected soldiers 6 Gy exposures occur at 1350 m and 900 m. The lethal range for tactical neutron bombs exceeds the lethal range for blast and heat even for unprotected troops.

The neutron flux can induce significant amounts of short-lived secondary radioactivity in the environment in the high flux region near the burst point. The alloys used in steel armor can develop radioactivity that is dangerous for 24-48 hours. If a tank exposed to a 1 kt neutron bomb at 690 m (the effective range for immediate crew incapacitation) is immediately occupied by a new crew, they will receive a lethal dose of radiation within 24 hours.

One significant drawback of the weapon is that not all targeted troops will die or be incapacitated immediately. After a brief bout of nausea, many of those hit with about 5-50 Sv of radiation will experience a temporary recovery lasting days to weeks. It has been suggested that these troops, knowing that they are likely to die soon anyway, may fight fanatically, without the usual regard for their own well-being.

Some authorities say that due to the rapid attenuation of neutron energy by the atmosphere (these authorities claim that it drops by a factor of 10 every 500 m in addition to the effects of spreading) ER weapons are only effective at short ranges, and thus are practical only in relatively low yields. These ER warheads are said to be designed to minimize the amount of fission energy and blast effect produced relative to the neutron yield. The principal reason is said to be to allow their use close to friendly forces.

These same authorities say that the common perception of the neutron bomb as a "landlord bomb" that would kill people but leave buildings undamaged is greatly overstated. At the conventional effective combat range (690 m), the blast from a 1 kt neutron bomb will ruin almost any civilian building. Thus the use of neutron bombs to stop an enemy attack, which requires exploding large numbers of them to blanket the enemy forces, would also destroy all buildings in the area.

Another view of the neutron bomb and its tactics exists. The inventor of the neutron bomb, Samuel Cohen, wrote a book in which he stated that the effective range of a pure neutron bomb exceeded 10 km of altitude. Cohen stated explicitly that "enhanced radiation" weapons deployed in Germany during the cold war were political compromises designed to have substantial blast, with radiation effects deliberately reduced to eliminate any possibility of surviving structures. He also quoted radiation releases of 1 kGy at the ground from pure neutron weapons exploded at 10 km.

The neutron absorption spectrum of air is disputed, and may depend in part on absorption by hydrogen from water vapor. It therefore might vary exponentially with humidity, making high-altitude neutron bombs immensely more deadly in desert climates than in humid ones. This effect also varies with altitude.

According to Cohen, one possible tactic of using such "true" neutron bombs is therefore to launch them as defensive weapons against armored attacks. Civilians enter fallout shelters, and the bomb is exploded 10 km over the armored attack. Portable armor is said to be unable to shield tank and aircraft crews. In such an event, a city's trees and grass would have been killed by radiation, but buildings would remain undamaged for the emerging civilians (who would however have to wait several days for certain short-lived isotopes to decay). Such neutron bombs would be very potent anti-ship weapons. A major supporter of Cohen's research was the U.S. Navy.

History

The neutron bomb is generally credited to Samuel Cohen at the Lawrence Livermore national laboratory. He developed the concept in 1958, [1] although it was opposed by President John F. Kennedy who however authorised its testing at the Nevada test site in 1962. Development was cancelled by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, but restarted by President Ronald Reagan in 1981. The bombs were only deployed in a limited manner and are no longer extant. Enhanced radiation weapons were also produced by France in the early 1980s. In 1999 reports indicated that China had gained the ability to produce neutron bombs. [2]

In popular culture

• In the PC strategy game Command & Conquer Generals: Zero Hour the Chinese forces have access to neutron bombs and neutron mines. They are used to kill enemy infantry and disable enemy vehicles by killing their crews.

• Pearl Jam's song "Wishlist" begins with the lines "I wish I was a neutron bomb, for once I could go off."

• R.E.M.'s song "The Wake-Up Bomb" features the lyrics "I had to write the great American novel, I had a neutron bomb / I had to teach the world to sing by the age of 21."

• In the 2004 film Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Umbrella uses a neutron missile to sanitize Raccoon City. In the movie, it shatters the glass of the City Hall as it is deployed and expands outward in a blinding white light.

• Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, was nicknamed Neutron Jack for his management style, which wipes out his employees (out of the company) while leaving buildings intact.

• A popular Dead Kennedys song titled "Kill the Poor" discusses the possible uses of the weapon for population control in inner city areas: Efficiency and progress is ours once more/ Now that we have the Neutron bomb / It's nice and quick and clean and gets things done... / Away with excess enemy / But no less value to property / No sense in war but perfect sense at home.. / (Chorus).

• The character "J. Frank Parnell" in the 1984 film Repo Man mentions the neutron bomb in the course of justifying voluntary lobotomies: "Friend of mine had one. Designer of the neutron bomb. You ever hear of the neutron bomb? Destroys people - leaves buildings standing. Fits in a suitcase. It's so small, no one knows it's there until - BLAMMO. Eyes melt, skin explodes, everybody dead. So immoral, working on the thing can drive you mad. That's what happened to this friend of mine. So he had a lobotomy. Now he's well again." The DVD release contains extra footage of Alex Cox interviewing, then watching Repo Man with Samuel Cohen. Cohen ranks it among his two favorite movies.

• In "The Simpsons" episode "Treehouse of Horror VIII", France uses a 6 Megaton Neutron Bomb to wipe out Springfield.

• In the 1987 film Robocop a tv news report mentions a French made, 3 megaton neutron bomb that the white ruling party in South Africa is prepared to use as a last line of defense.

• On W.A.S.P.'s album "The Headless Children," there is a song called "The Neutron Bomber."

• Australian singer and actress Olivia Newton-John was often nicknamed "Olivia Neutron Bomb", in reference to her "bombshell" good looks.

• In the novel Dune Messiah published in 1969, an atomic weapon with an adjustable radiation yield called a stone burner is used in an assassination attempt. This fictional novel takes place more than 22,000 years in the future.

• In the Doctor Who episode The Daleks (1963-64), several neutron bombs were dropped in the war between the dals and the thals many hundred years ago.

• In the PSP Game Metal Gear Acid 2, Metal Gear "Chaioth Ha Qadesh" has the ability to launch Neutron Bombs as its main weapon.

• In the Ultraman Tiga episode "ULTRAMAN TIGA: STAR OF THE DINOSAURS" (1996), the two Weaponizers have half a neutron bomb in them. If they get close to each other, the bomb will be set off and kill all life on Earth. Ultraman Tiga managed to stop this from happening.

• In Kurt Vonnegut's book "Deadeye Dick (1982), an American town, Midland City, Ohio, is depopulated because a neutron bomb detonates on the Interstate. All structures are intact, the townspeople are buried under a parking lot and the area fenced off. Because of the lack of property damage, there is talk of using the fenced off town as a camp for Haitian Refugess.

• In the PC Game Soldier of Fortune members of the terrorist group "The Order" are trying to create a neutron bomb, in order to wipe out the UN headquarters in New York.

• In an Alias second season episode, one of the Rambaldi artifacts is a reusable suitcase neutron bomb.

• In the Nintendo 64 game Perfect Dark, a weapon called the "N-bomb" is avalible.

References

• Cohen, Sam, The Truth About the Neutron Bomb: The Inventor of the Bomb Speaks Out, William Morrow & Co., 1983, ISBN 0688016464

• Cohen, Sam, "Shame: Confessions of the Father of the Neutron Bomb", Xlibris Corporation, 2000, ISBN 0738822302

External links

• The Profits Of Fear: A History of The Neutron Bomb and Sam Cohen
• What is a neutron bomb?
• Nuclear Files.org Definition and history of the neutron bomb

See also

• Neutron
• Nuclear fallout
• Nuclear strategy
• Nuclear warfare
• Nuclear weapon design