Radiation monitoring on project mercury - results and implications.
Mercury missions ma-8 and ma-9 exposure to electron radiation from high altitude nuclear explosion and proton flux of inner van allen belt
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Mercury missions ma-8 and ma-9 exposure to electron radiation from high altitude nuclear explosion and proton flux of inner van allen belt
Explorer XV satellite particle experiments to measure electron distribution and effects of injection of new electrons in trapped radiation belts by high altitude nuclear explosions
Numerical integration of Fokker-Planck equation used to predict decay time of electrons injected into geomagnetic field by nuclear explosion
Seismological instrumentation, earthquake and nuclear explosion detection, and engineering construction applications
Theoretical and applied seismology, earthquake engineering, earth structure, industrial uses, facilities, and underground nuclear explosion detection
High energy electromagnetic radiation and energetic particles from sun, galaxies, and nuclear explosions in spacecraft environment
Static and shock kink bands in biotite deformed by metamorphism, meteorite impact, nuclear explosion and laboratory experiments
Shock structures of basalts from craters produced by nuclear explosions and of rocks from lunar craters
Calculation of decay lifetimes of artificial electrons produced by Starfish nuclear explosion
Application of an elementary technique of dimensional analysis, that of testing for geometric similitude, suggests an impact genesis for most lunar craters. Geometrically similar phenomena fulfill four requirements: (1) log-log plots of paired descriptive variables are linear, (2) slopes of these plots equal ratios of the dimensions of the two variables, (3) intercepts of the plots are the same and (4) phenomena belong to the same general taxonomic group. Five topographic criteria are used to test lunar and terrestrial craters for geometric similitude: the variation of rim diameter with (1) interior depth, (2) exterior rim height, (3) exterior rim width and (4) rim crest circularity, and (5) variation of exterior rim height with crater depth. By all criteria, fresh bowl-shaped lunar craters between 10 m and 20 km in diameter are geometrically similar to fresh terrestrial meteorite craters and craters produced by chemical and nuclear explosives at shallow depths of burial. Most lunar craters exceeding 10-20 km in diameter fulfill only the last three criteria of similitude.
Wavelike disturbances were observed in the ionosphere following several nuclear explosions in early 1960's. Supersonic shock waves within the atmosphere generated by large rockets can cause ionospheric electron density perturbations. A CW phase path Doppler array in the New York area was operated during the Saturn-Apollo 12 and 13 launches and recorded Doppler frequency fluctuations due to rocket launchings. Cross correlation and power spectral analyses of the phase path-path Doppler frequency variation records showed that the phase velocities of the signal arrivals were from south of the array with 700 - 800 m/sec corresponding to periods in the range of 2 to 4 minutes. Ionograms taken every 60 seconds from Wallops Islands showed clearly ionospheric disturbances due to rockets. The group velocities were estimated to be of the order of 450 m/sec 1 obtained from the earliest visible disturbances seen on CW phase path Doppler records and ionograms together with the rocket trajectory data.
Craters produced by chemical and nuclear explosives at the Nevada Test Site were used to train astronauts before their lunar missions. The craters have characteristics suitable for reconnaissance-type field investigations. The Schooner test produced a crater about 300 m across and excavated more than 72 m of stratigraphic section deposited in a fairly regular fashion so that systematic observations yield systematic results. Other features common on the moon, such as secondary craters and glass-coated rocks, are present at Schooner crater. Smaller explosive tests on Buckboard Mesa excavated rocks from three horizontal alteration zones within basalt flows so that the original sequence of the zones could be determined. One crater illustrated the characteristics of craters formed across vertical boundaries between rock units. Although the exercises at the Nevada Test Site were only a small part of the training of the astronauts, voice transcripts of Apollo missions 14, 16, and 17 show that the exercises contributed to astronaut performance on the moon.
Although stratosphere penetrating volcanic eruptions have been infrequent during the last half century, periods have existed in the last several hundred years when such eruptions were significantly more frequent. Several mechanisms exist for these injections to affect stratospheric minor constituent chemistry, both on the long-term average and for short-term perturbations. These mechanisms are reviewed and, because of the sensitivity of current models of stratospheric ozone to chlorine perturbations, quantitative estimates are made of chlorine injection rates. It is found that, if chlorine makes up as much as 0.5 to 1% of the gases released and if the total gases released are about the same magnitude as the fine ash, then a major stratosphere penetrating eruption could deplete the ozone column by several percent. The estimate for the Agung eruption of 1963 is just under 1% an amount not excluded by the ozone record but complicated by the peak in atmospheric nuclear explosions at about the same time.
The paper discusses shock metamorphism of calcite from coralline limestone samples retrieved from a borehole drilled into rocks beneath Cactus Crater, a nuclear explosion crater at Eniwetok Atoll. The metamorphism was detected and quantified using electron spin resonance (ESR); the ESR spectra of Mn(+) present as a trace constituent in the coral samples, show a consistent decrease in hyperfine peak splitting with decreasing depth of sample. It is suggested that the decrease in hyperfine peak splitting reflects a decrease in crystal field splitting, and therefore, small increases on cation-anion distances produced by mechanical energy input during the shock process. Two alternative crater models suggested by the ESR results are a depiction of a steady decay of the shock wave, and a delineation of a breccia lens with a breccia-bedrock interface at 20 plus or minus 5 m.
Arc-heated flow facilities with injected particles are used to simulate the erosive and ablative/erosive environments encountered by spacecraft re-entry through fog, clouds, thermo-nuclear explosions, etc. Two newly developed particle diagnostic techniques used to calibrate these facilities are discussed. One technique measures particle velocity and is based on the detection of thermal radiation and/or chemiluminescence from the hot seed particles in a model ablation/erosion facility. The second technique measures a local particle rate, which is proportional to local particle mass flux, in a dust erosion facility by photodetecting and counting the interruptions of a focused laser beam by individual particles.
A best set of neutron-capture cross sections has been evaluated for the most important s-process isotopes. With this data base, s-process studies have been carried out using the traditional model which assumes a steady neutron flux and an exponential distribution of neutron irradiations. The calculated sigma-N curve is in excellent agreement with the empirical sigma-N-values of pure s-process nuclei. Simultaneously, good agreement is found between the difference of solar and s-process abundances and the abundances of pure r-process nuclei. The abundance pattern of the iron group elements where s-process results complement the abundances obtained from explosive nuclear burning is discussed. The results obtained from the traditional s-process model such as seed abundances, mean neutron irradiations, or neutron densities are compared to recent stellar model calculations which assume the He-burning shells of red giant stars as the site for the s-process.
It is shown that smoke from fires started by nuclear explosions could continue to cause significant disruption even after it has fallen from the atmosphere, by lowering the reflectivity of snow and sea ice surfaces, with possible effects on climate in northern latitudes caused by enhanced absorption of sunlight. The reduced reflectivity could persist for several years on Arctic sea ice and on the ablation area of the Greenland ice sheet.
The discovery of cosmic gamma ray bursts was made with systems designed at Los Alamos Laboratory for the detection of nuclear explosions beyond the atmosphere. HELIOS-2 was the first gamma ray burst instrument launched; its initial results in 1976, seemed to deepen the mystery around gamma ray transients. Interplanetary spacecraft data were reviewed in terms of explaining the behavior and source of the transients.