Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Dice Throw/UHF/SHF transmission experiment. Volume III. Final data reduction and interpretation. Topical report, 16 November 1976-19 March 1979

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6687525
This report presents the final results from an rf propagation experiment fielded during the DICE THROW HE test held at the White Sands Missile Range on 6 October 1976. That experiment was designed to measure the effects of high-density, explosively produced dust clouds on a series of coherent signals ranging in frequency from 400 MHz to 10 GHz. Both amplitude and phase data were obtained. This report contains: (1) A description of the experiment; (2) The reduced rf data; (3) An interpretation of the results; (4) A discussion of theoretical effects of dust and crater debris on rf signal propagation; and (5) Results from photographic coverage of the event, including comparisons with hydrodynamic-code flow-field predictions and with nuclear and other non-nuclear tests. The observed rf results were found to be consistent with the behavior expected from theoretical considerations and dust densities obtained from a simple model based on material missing from the water and measured cloud volume. Because of the relatively small volume of space affected, rf effects were generally mild, unless a threshold combination of the dust density and the particle size distribution parameter were exceeded. Once the threshold was crossed, extinction coefficients rose to as much as several tens of decibels per kilometer. This was accompanied by the complete loss of a coherent signal component, strong fading, and the apparent onset of multiple scattering.
Research Organization:
SRI International, Menlo Park, CA (USA)
OSTI ID:
6687525
Report Number(s):
AD-A-085760
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English