Open AccessCHARACTERISTICS OF RADIOACTIVITY PRODUCED BY NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVES
Author(s) -
John A. Miskel
Publication year - 1961
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/4018441
Subject(s) - detonation , explosive material , fission products , thermonuclear fusion , fission , radiochemistry , neutron , chemistry , nuclear fission , nuclear physics , physics , plasma , organic chemistry
The amounts and kinds of radioactivities produced by detonation of a nuclear explosive are dependent upon the specific design of the explosive. The two design extremes are a pure fission device, which will produce about 1.4 x 10/ sup 23/ fissions, and therefore about 2.8 x 10/sup 23/ fission products, per kiloton of energy released, and a pure thermonuclear device which would produce no fission products, but would produce approximately 10/sup 23/ atoms of tritium per kiloton. In both cases, interaction of escaping neutrons with the materials of the device itself, and with the surrounding media, could lead to further radioactivities. The behavior and ultimate fate of the activities produced by the explosion depend on the composition of the medium in which the detonation occurs, the nature of the detonation, and the chemical species involved. Some typical cases are described. (auth