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Dan Simonson wrote:
> In lugnet.build.mecha, Mark Sandlin writes:
> > There are such things as low-yield nukes, which have a small blast range and
> > are used on smaller targets.
> Sounds like something from Starship Troopers, if you've seen that movie ;-)
They're in the book, too. Some of the MI had Y-racks on their backs from
which they could lob several tac-nukes to either side. Heinlein doesn't
specifically mention yield, but it's inferred that the lethal radius of the
blast is well below the size of a city, perhaps as small as a city block.
An issue with such a small nuke is critical mass. Make the warhead small
enough, and you don't generate enough neutrons to sustain a nuclear
reaction. I don't remember exactly what critical mass for uranium-235 is,
but I think I remember it's something 10 kilograms (or the size of a soccer
ball -- name that reference :-), well too large for a convenient
hand-grenade-sized weapon.
Concievably, there are materials out there that naturally fling enough
neutrons such that critical mass could be reduced to an appreciable size,
but handling such a dirty substance would be extremely cumbersome. You'd
need so much neutron shielding in the bomb, that it may contain a
significant portion of the blast. Hmmm, if the shielding was
lop-sided...shaped nuclear charges, anyone?
An alternative that I don't see mentioned much, but have read about
*somewhere* before, are hybrid systems containing more than one type of
isotope; i.e. mixing a stable high-neutron source and an unstable
low-neutron source for detonation. But I don't have a clue as to which
materials would be considered, or even if a "stable high-neutron source" or
an "unstable low-neutron source" even exist.
Cheers,
- jsproat
--
Jeremy H. Sproat <jsproat@io.com> ~~~ http://www.io.com/~jsproat/
Is it still illegal if I copy just the FBI warning?
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Tactical nukes (was: Real Pics Of New Mecha)
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| (...) Sure. Look at the USMC...they _issued_ (to the div. level) 1.5kt nukes, that were man portable. Only one little problem...the rocket propelling the nuke had a range of about 2km, and the radiation was lethal at about 2.5km... (...) @22 lbs (...) (24 years ago, 31-Aug-00, to lugnet.off-topic.geek)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Real Pics Of New Mecha
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| (...) Sounds like something from Starship Troopers, if you've seen that movie ;-) (...) Actually, someone told me about those once. (...) Yup (...) Chef (24 years ago, 30-Aug-00, to lugnet.build.mecha)
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