November 2016 HERMES Outdoor Shot Series 10268-313: Air Conductivity Measurements
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Of specific concern to this report and the related experiments is ionization of air by gammas rays and the cascading electrons in the High-Energy Radiation Megavolt Electron Source (HERMES) III courtyard. When photons generated by HERMES encounter a neutral atom or molecule, there is a chance that they will interact via one of several mechanisms: photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, or pair production. In both the photoelectric effect and Compton scattering, an electron is liberated from the atom or molecule with a direction of travel preferentially aligned with the gamma ray. This results in a flow of electrons away from the source region, which results in large scale electric and magnetic fields. The strength of these fields and their dynamics are dependent on the conductivity of the air. A more comprehensive description is provided by Longmire and Gilbert.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000; NA0003525
- OSTI ID:
- 1493464
- Report Number(s):
- SAND--2019-1037; 671995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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