Exploratory study for the prediction of nuclear burst effects on VLF systems (physical mechanisms)

Technical Report · Thu Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1964

OSTI ID:6640663

Foderaro, A H; Jacobs, A M; Musser, J M; Oelbermann, E J; Sechrist, C F

This report summarizes work which is being done in the continuation of an exploratory study of nuclear burst effects on VLF Systems. This work involves a study of particle sources, charged particle migration, and ionospheric effects having to do with electron production in the atmosphere. Sudden changes in VLF propagation characteristics, presumably due to increased D-layer ionization, were observed to occur along VLF paths whose nearest points lie thousands of kilometers away from the location of a highaltitude nuclear burst. It is proposed that this ionization may be caused by neutrons which were transported by multiple scatterings around the earth and well into the shadow zone where they deposit part of their kinetic energy through collisions with nitrogen nuclei. Numerical results are presented which, though based on a highly simplified model program, encourage further detailed calculations. The possibility of observationally distinguishing between the transport mechanism and the neutron decay mechanism is also discussed.

• Research Organization: HRB-Singer, Inc., State College, PA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6640663
• Report Number(s): AD-451325; HRB-356-R-5
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640202* -- Atmospheric Physics-- Effects of Nuclear Detonations
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
BARYONS
CHARGED PARTICLES
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELECTRON DENSITY
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
EXPLOSIONS
FERMIONS
FISSION NEUTRONS
FISSION PRODUCTS
HADRONS
IONIZATION
ISOTOPES
LEPTONS
LONG WAVE RADIATION
MATERIALS
NEUTRONS
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
NUCLEONS
PROMPT NEUTRONS
RADIATIONS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOWAVE RADIATION
SCATTERING