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Castle Koon
The Koon shot of Operation Castle was a test of a thermonuclear device designed at the University of California Radiation Laboratory (UCRL), now Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The "dry" two-stage device was known as "Morgenstern" and had a highly innovative secondary stage. It was tested on 7 April 1954. The predicted yield was between 0.33 and 3.5 megatons, with an expected yield of 1 megaton. The actual yield was 0.11 megatons. Morgenstern was thus a fizzle. Post-shot analysis showed that the failure was caused by the premature heating of the secondary by the neutron flux of the primary. This was a simple design defect and not related to the unique geometry of the secondary. The UCRL's other shot, the "wet" (i.e., cryogenic) ramrod device, originally scheduled for the ''Echo'' shot, was cancelled because it shared the same design defect. The name "Morgenstern" (German for morning star) was chosen because of the shape of the secondary. The secondary consisted of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Castle
Operation Castle was a United States series of high-yield (high-energy) nuclear tests by Joint Task Force 7 (JTF-7) at Bikini Atoll beginning in March 1954. It followed ''Operation Upshot–Knothole'' and preceded '' Operation Teapot''. Conducted as a joint venture between the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the Department of Defense (DoD), the ultimate objective of the operation was to test designs for an aircraft-deliverable thermonuclear weapon. All the devices tested, which ranged in weight from , were built to be dropped from aircraft. However, ballistic casings, fins and fusing systems would have to be attached. Operation Castle was considered by government officials to be a success as it proved the feasibility of deployable "dry" fuel designs for thermonuclear weapons. There were technical difficulties with some of the tests: one device had a yield much lower than predicted (a " fizzle"), while two other bombs detonated with over twice their predicted yields. One ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neutron Flux
The neutron flux is a scalar quantity used in nuclear physics and nuclear reactor physics. It is the total distance travelled by all free neutrons per unit time and volume. Equivalently, it can be defined as the number of neutrons travelling through a small sphere of radius R in a time interval, divided by a maximal cross section of the sphere (the great disk area, \pi R^2) and by the duration of the time interval. The dimension of neutron flux is \mathsf^\mathsf^ and the usual unit is cm−2s−1 (reciprocal square centimetre times reciprocal second). The neutron fluence is defined as the neutron flux integrated over a certain time period. So its dimension is \mathsf^ and its usual unit is cm−2 (reciprocal square centimetre). An older term used instead of cm−2 was "n.v.t." (neutrons, velocity, time). Natural neutron flux Neutron flux in asymptotic giant branch stars and in supernovae is responsible for most of the natural nucleosynthesis producing elements heavier th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1950s In The Marshall Islands
Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 195 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Emperor Septimius Severus has the Roman Senate deify the previous emperor Commodus, in an attempt to gain favor with the family of Marcus Aurelius. * King Vologases V and other eastern princes support the claims of Pescennius Niger. The Roman province of Mesopotamia rises in revolt with Parthian support. Severus marches to Mesopotamia to battle the Parthians. * The Roman province of Syria is divided and the role of Antioch is diminished. The Romans annex the Syrian cities of Edessa and Nisibis. Severus re-establishes his headquarters and the colonies the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1954 In The Environment
This is a list of notable events relating to the environment in 1954. They relate to environmental law, conservation, environmentalism and environmental issues. Events *The Nile perch were introduced into Lake Victoria in East Africa and since then it has been fished commercially. It is attributed with causing the extinction or near-extinction of several hundred native species ;July *The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 was passed in the United States. See also *Human impact on the environment Human impact on the environment (or anthropogenic environmental impact) refers to changes to biophysical environments and to ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources caused directly or indirectly by humans. Modifying the environment to ... References {{Reflist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1954 In Military History
Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head office of IBM. * January 10 – BOAC Flight 781, a de Havilland Comet jet plane, disintegrates in mid-air due to metal fatigue, and crashes in the Mediterranean near Elba; all 35 people on board are killed. * January 12 – 1954 Blons avalanches, Avalanches in Austria kill more than 200. * January 15 – Mau Mau rebellion, Mau Mau leader Waruhiu Itote is captured in Kenya. * January 17 – In Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia, Milovan Đilas, one of the leading members of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, is relieved of his duties. * January 20 – The US-based National Negro Network is established, with 46 member radio stations. * January 21 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the , is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuclear Testing At Bikini Atoll
Nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll consisted of the detonation of 23 (or 24) nuclear weapons by the United States between 1946 and 1958 on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Tests occurred at 7 test sites on the reef itself, on the sea, in the air, and underwater. The test weapons produced a combined yield of about 77–78.6 Mt of TNT in explosive power. After the inhabitants agreed to a temporary evacuation, to allow nuclear testing on Bikini, which they were told was of great importance to humankind, two nuclear weapons were detonated in 1946. About ten years later, additional tests with thermonuclear weapons in the late 1950s were also conducted. The first thermonuclear explosion was much more powerful than expected, and created a number of issues, but did demonstrate the dangers of such devices. The United States and its allies were engaged in a Cold War nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union to build more advanced bombs from 1947 until 1991. The first series of tests ov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Explosions In 1954
An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume of a given amount of matter associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Explosions may also be generated by a slower expansion that would normally not be forceful, but is not allowed to expand, so that when whatever is containing the expansion is broken by the pressure that builds as the matter inside tries to expand, the matter expands forcefully. An example of this is a volcanic eruption created by the expansion of magma in a magma chamber as it rises to the surface. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known as detonations and travel through shock waves. Subsonic explosions are created by low explosives through a slower combustion process known as deflagration. Causes For an explosion to occur, there must be a rapid, forceful expansion of matter. There are numerous ways this can happen, both naturally and artificially, s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pit (nuclear Weapon)
In nuclear weapon design, the pit is the core of an implosion nuclear weapon, consisting of fissile material and any neutron reflector or tamper bonded to it. Early pits were spherical, while most modern pits are prolate spheroidal. Some weapons tested during the 1950s used pits made with uranium-235 alone, or as a composite with plutonium. All-plutonium pits are the smallest in diameter and have been the standard since the early 1960s. The pit is named after the hard core found in stonefruit such as peaches and apricots. Designs The pits of the first nuclear weapons were solid, with an ''urchin'' neutron initiator in their center. The Gadget and Fat Man used pits made of 6.2 kg of solid hot pressed plutonium-gallium alloy (at 400 °C and 200 MPa in steel dies – and ) half-spheres of diameter, with a internal cavity for the initiator. The Gadget's pit was electroplated with 0.13 mm of silver because of plutonium's susceptibility to cor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Teller
Edward Teller (; January 15, 1908 – September 9, 2003) was a Hungarian and American Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist and chemical engineer who is known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb" and one of the creators of the History of the Teller–Ulam design, Teller–Ulam design based on Stanisław Ulam's design. He had a volatile personality, and was "driven by his megaton ambitions, had a Messiah complex, messianic complex, and displayed autocratic behavior." A thermonuclear design he devised was an Alarm Clock model bomb with a yield of 1000 MT (1 GT of TNT) and he proposed delivering it by boat or submarine. It would be capable of incinerating a continent. Born in Austria-Hungary in 1908, Teller emigrated to the US in the 1930s, one of the many so-called The Martians (scientists), "Martians", a group of Hungarian scientist émigrés. He made numerous contributions to Nuclear physics, nuclear and molecular physics, spectroscopy, and Surface science, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morning Star (weapon)
A morning star () is any of several medieval club-like weapons consisting of a shaft with an attached ball adorned with one or more spikes. Such weapons provided their wielders with a combination of blunt-force and puncture attack to kill or wound an enemy. History The morning star first came into widespread use around the beginning of the fourteenth century, particularly in Germany where it was known as ''Morgenstern''. The term is often confused with the military flail (''fléau d'armes'' in French and ''Kriegsflegel'' in German), which typically consists of a wooden shaft joined by a length of chain to one or more iron-shod wooden bars. (Heavy sword pommels have also been used as weights.) However, there are few depictions of such a ball-and-chain flail from the period, so the weapon of this type appears to have been uncommon. Design The morning star is a medieval weapon consisting of a spiked head mounted on a shaft, resembling a mace, usually with a long spike exten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Language
German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It is also an official language of Luxembourg, German-speaking Community of Belgium, Belgium and the Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol, as well as a recognized national language in Namibia. There are also notable German-speaking communities in other parts of Europe, including: Poland (Upper Silesia), the Czech Republic (North Bohemia), Denmark (South Jutland County, North Schleswig), Slovakia (Krahule), Germans of Romania, Romania, Hungary (Sopron), and France (European Collectivity of Alsace, Alsace). Overseas, sizeable communities of German-speakers are found in the Americas. German is one of the global language system, major languages of the world, with nearly 80 million native speakers and over 130 mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fizzle (nuclear Explosion)
A fizzle occurs when the detonation of a device for creating a nuclear explosion (such as a nuclear weapon) grossly fails to meet its expected yield. The bombs still detonate, but the detonation is much weaker than anticipated. The cause(s) for the failure might be linked to improper design, poor construction, or lack of expertise.Staff Writer.NBC Weapons: North Korean Fizzle Bomb" ''Strategy Page.'' Retrieved on 2008-05-04.Earl Lane.Nuclear Experts Assess the Threat of a "Backyard Bomb”" ''American Association for the Advancement of Science.'' Retrieved on 2008-05-04. All countries that have had a nuclear weapons testing program have experienced some fizzles. Meirion Jones.A short history of fizzles" ''BBC News.'' Retrieved on 2008-05-04. A fizzle can spread radioactive material throughout the surrounding area, involve a partial fission reaction of the fissile material, or both.Theodore E. Liolios.The Effects of Nuclear Terrorism: Fizzles" (PDF) ''European Program on Science ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
