What is a cobalt bomb? Top ways to cause a mass extinction on earth

Theoretically, it is a thermonuclear warhead, in which the last shell contains not uranium-238, but cobalt. Natural cobalt is a monoisotopic element, it consists of 100% cobalt-59. During an explosion, this shell is irradiated with a strong neutron flux. As a result of neutron capture, the stable cobalt-59 nucleus is converted into the radioactive isotope cobalt-60. The half-life of cobalt-60 is 5.2 years; as a result of the beta decay of this nuclide, nickel-60 is formed in an excited state, which then passes to the ground state, emitting one or more gamma rays.

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The idea of a cobalt bomb was described in February 1950 by physicist Leo Szilard, who suggested that an arsenal of cobalt bombs would be capable of destroying all humanity on the planet (the so-called Doomsday Machine, English Doomsday device, DDD). Cobalt was chosen as an element that, as a result of neutron activation, produces highly active and at the same time relatively long-lasting radioactive contamination. When using other elements, you can get contamination with isotopes with a long half-life, but their activity will be insufficient. There are also shorter-lived isotopes than cobalt-60, such as gold-198, zinc-65, sodium-24, but due to their rapid decay, part of the population may survive in bunkers.

Szilard's "Machine" doomsday" - a thermonuclear explosive device capable of producing cobalt-60 in quantities sufficient to destroy all humanity - does not involve any delivery means. A state (or terrorist organization) can use it as a tool of blackmail, threatening to detonate the Doomsday Machine on its territory and thereby destroy both its population and the rest of humanity. After the explosion, radioactive cobalt-60 will be carried throughout the planet by atmospheric currents over several months.

In the early 2000s, information appeared in the Russian press with reference to an interview with Colonel General E. A. Negin to foreign journalists that the group of Academician A. D. Sakharov allegedly offered N. S. Khrushchev to make a ship with cobalt plating containing a large number of deuterium next to a nuclear bomb. If detonated off the east coast of America, radioactive fallout would fall on US territory.

Cobalt bombs in culture

Notes

The Effects of Nuclear Weapons (unavailable link), Samuel Glasstone and Philip J. Dolan (editors), United States Department of Defense and Department of Energy, Washington, D.C.
1.6 Cobalt Bombs and other Salted Bombs (undefined) . Nuclearweaponarchive.org. Retrieved February 10, 2011. Archived July 28, 2012.
Ramzaev V. et al. Radiological investigations at the “Taiga” nuclear explosion site: Site description and in situ measurements (English) // Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. - 2011. - Vol. 102. - Iss. 7. - P. 672-680. - DOI:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2011.04.003.
Ramzaev V. et al. Radiological investigations at the “Taiga” nuclear explosion site, part II: man-made γ-ray emitting radionuclides in the ground and the resulting kerma rate in air (English) // Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. - 2012. - Vol. 109. - P. 1-12. -

During the existence of the Earth, all living things were on the verge of extinction six times. The first was the so-called Ordovician-Silurian extinction, which occurred about 440 million years ago. Then more than 60% of marine invertebrate species disappeared. A kind of record was set 251.4 million years ago during the “great” Permian extinction (95% of living beings disappeared). The last time death struck everyone was 33.9 million years ago - it was the Eocene-Oligocene extinction.

In those distant times, there were no technologies that could have an impact on living beings, and everything happened naturally. At least, this is what is commonly believed, since before the advent of the time machine it is not possible to test scientists’ hypotheses. Quite recently, by the standards of the Universe, man appeared on Earth, a kind of “crown of nature,” endowed with previously unprecedented capabilities. Thanks to a coincidence of circumstances and other reasons, he began to consider himself above everything else, learned to change the environment to suit his needs and is already looking with all his might at neighboring planets, the conquest of which is still only in the plans.

Just a moment, and a sharp stone appeared in the hands of the primate, then - bows, crossbows, cannons, bombs... In his desire to destroy himself similar people surpasses all living things, and it is often very difficult to justify violence. There is a feeling that if there is an asteroid or global cataclysm behind the next “great extinction,” it will be caused by humans.

We have compiled a list of weapons and what could become them and turn out to be the latest technological achievement of mankind. At least a civilized one.

1. Probably the least powerful option in our ranking - cobalt bomb, but everything is relative. Nothing is known about its existence, but there should not be any particular difficulties in creating such ammunition. The only catch is the consequences, which can be unpredictable. It is for this reason that the idea remains (or remained) in the heads of scientists and on paper.

However, in the first half of November 2015, the Russian media (either by accident or not) “shown” on television information about the “Status-6” complex for submarines. Later, Putin's press secretary, whose tablet was caught on camera, confirmed the leak. It has been suggested that the document specifically mentions a cobalt bomb, capable of destroying the entire biosphere in the affected area and making it for a long time completely unsuitable for humans. By the way, there are also assumptions about the use of similar weapons in the past.

The main “advantage” of a cobalt bomb is that the power of the explosion fades into the background: it is easier to hit large areas with such weapons than when using “classical” weapons of mass destruction. No one will survive even in bunkers. And for the entire planet, theoretically, about 510 tons of cobalt-59 are sufficient, which after the reaction will become cobalt-60. Still, it is better to use it in medicine.

2. Hypothetical climate weapon based on the HAARP system. What exactly is HAARP? The abbreviation stands for “High-Frequency Aurora Research Program,” but for conspiracy theorists, it is primarily a super-powerful weapon being developed by the Americans. This statement is hampered by the fact that work funded by the US military, the University of Alaska and the DARPA Advanced Research Projects Agency has already been stopped. Upon completion of the closed contract, it is planned to sell HAARP usage time to all interested organizations (after due diligence, of course).

But we are interested in what is hidden from view ordinary people. First of all, some experts believe, the system can be used to search for enemy military structures, including those hidden deep under the surface of the earth. HAARP is also supposedly capable of disabling satellites and, most importantly, influencing the weather. This is fraught with floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes. In theory, just such a device can wreak havoc everywhere, sending all imaginable misfortunes to the enemy.

If climate weapons existed, their aftereffects could be unpredictable. It is suggested that global warming occurs precisely because of the tests being carried out. However, one cannot discount the activities of the man himself, who with his factories, hazardous industries, cars and cities will give odds to any “climate weapon”.

3. An example of how all living things can be destroyed is provided by nature itself. We are talking about the so-called supervolcanoes, the eruptions of which change the appearance of the planet and affect the processes occurring on it. In theory, the reaction can be triggered using tectonic weapons, described by science and used more than once in science fiction works.

The trigger for a tectonic weapon could be a seismic bomb - it has existed for a long time and is even used. In this case, the deadly cargo is delivered to great depths: the charge enclosed in the shell is capable of traveling tens of meters of soil or some artificial materials. The prospects of such weapons were at first underestimated, but then the United States, for example, initiated a project to create “pugs” (Massive Ordnance Penetrator, MOP).

Science does not know for sure whether a seismic bomb is capable of triggering the eruption of a supervolcano. The chances are small, but they are still frightening, since the main question is: in the event of the creation or simply testing of tectonic weapons, will the military be able to guarantee the absence of a chain reaction that will lead to the launch of a “doomsday machine”?

4. RHIC (English: The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider) is a relativistic heavy ion collider. The name itself seems to hint at the seriousness of the complex. It is used for research purposes to find answers to questions about how the Universe was formed after the Big Bang. To do this, scientists are creating and subsequently studying quark-gluon plasma, which arises and exists in billionths of a second. In many science fiction works, scientists' experiments often lead to unexpected and sometimes devastating consequences.

Some science enthusiasts believe that the work of RHIC could lead to the emergence of a new form of matter from strange quarks (s-quarks), which, in turn, will destroy our planet. At the same time, the authors of such statements refer to well-known physicists who also do not exclude such a development of events. Such forecasts were made before the start of experiments at RHIC and the launch of the Large Hadron Collider. However, in 2005, physicists were still able to create an analogue of a black hole. Its size turned out to be much smaller than an atomic one, but at the same time it absorbed 10 times more particles than theoretically predicted. Scientists reassured the public by saying that with such dimensions it does not pose any danger.

5. Going further into the jungle of hypothetical methods of destroying all living things, we can mention several very fantastic scenarios. IN last years 3D printers are becoming increasingly popular, capable of not only “printing” small parts, but also to build entire houses. Not long ago, a 3D printer created by its own brother appeared. Of course, not entirely, but many of its elements appeared with the help of the device itself.

In this regard, it comes to mind von Neumann machine- a self-reproducing structure that, in theory, can fill the entire world. The concept can be used for both good and evil, and this applies to any, even the most “peaceful” technologies. The so-called “von Neumann probe” could go to explore deep space, reproducing its own kind from scrap materials if necessary. The “original” in this case remains to collect information about a certain area of space, and its copy, assembled from scrap materials, is aimed at the next galaxy or planetary system. And so on ad infinitum.

It will be worse if the mechanism (or organism?) sets itself the goal of having endless offspring and successfully takes over the world. Or it will simply be programmed to play, but due to a glitch in the software it will begin to act uncontrollably. Like, for example, the replicators from the Stargate television series.

However, paranoia does not stop there, because there are still nanorobots, or nanobots. The “great-grandfathers” of nanotechnology were mentioned back in the 19th century by the writer Nikolai Leskov (he invented the famous character named Lefty). In the first half of the 20th century, ideas for creating complex subminiature mechanisms appeared. Then the theory gradually developed and often appeared in both science fiction literature and cinema: nanites from I, Robot, nanomites from G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and so on. With their help you can heal, kill and control. “You can’t even dream of more”- Doctor Evil muttered under his breath...potatoes, and the restless celestial bodies full of precious metals and useful ones. But somewhere in the Martian sands and asteroid crevices there may be a bacteria (or virus) lurking - so unusual that it will not be possible to detect it the first time. Surely scientists will want to study it more closely in the most secret conditions, but there still remains the human factor and the innate carelessness of some individuals. Having set a goal, some crazy person can easily arrange a real Purgatory on Earth, and the events of the Doom game will seem like kindergarten.

The concept of a “doomsday machine” arose due to the emergence and development of technologies that could, in theory, destroy all life. However, weapons of mass extermination existed in myths - and at least the lightning of Zeus or Pandora's Box, which were reincarnated in the Death Star and SkyNet. Proponents of crazy conspiracy theories can find many methods of destruction already in motion (for example, genetically modified organism, popularly known as GMO), and somewhere the “Kuzka’s Mother” (Tsar Bomb) is gathering dust, which still remains the most powerful explosive device in history.

The main calculation for a nuclear strike is made on the immediate effect that occurs directly during the explosion - a destructive shock wave, penetrating radiation, light radiation. At the same time, another very unpleasant side effect appears - radioactive contamination of the area. History knows a case when the military intended to rely on the last damaging factor, using a “dirty bomb” capable of making any territory uninhabitable for a very, very long time.

However, the first person to have such an idea was not a maniac scientist, not a dictator of a small third world country, or even a general from the Pentagon. In 1940, the aspiring but already promising American science fiction writer Robert Heinlein wrote the story “Bad Solution.” In Europe, the flywheel of World War II was already swinging, and the world, shuddering with anticipation of the coming war, was hastily arming itself; Heinlein was interested in physics, and therefore his creative thought flowed along the obvious channel: what using the latest methods The latest achievements of science, in particular the fission of the uranium nucleus, discovered in 1939 by Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann, may result in homicides.

Interesting fact: in his story, Robert Heinlein foresaw its creation three years before the Manhattan Project. But if the result of research carried out within the framework of the real Manhattan Project were atomic bombs dropped on Japanese cities, then the scientists involved in the fictional Special Defense Project No. 347 were unable to solve the problem of controlling the nuclear reaction - and therefore decided to take a different path and take advantage of the deadly properties of radioactivity of unstable isotopes. In the alternative universe of the story, in order to force Germany to surrender, the United States of America dropped several dozen compact bombs with radioactive dust on Berlin in 1945 - the city was not damaged, but was completely depopulated - and then set a course for the world domination of democratic values, supported by “dirty bombs."

“Fantastic,” the reader will say. Alas, what Robert Heinlein wrote about was quite possible during the Second World War, and even more so can become a reality today. Especially after there was a topic in the media about

Radioactive dust

Radiological weapons, as “dirty bombs” are also called, do not need to be actual bombs. In Heinlein’s story, for example, the Russians (who created similar weapons almost simultaneously with the Americans) scattered radioactive dust over American cities directly from airplanes, like insecticide on the fields (by the way, another apt prediction of the author: long before cold war he foresaw that it was the USSR that would become the main rival of the United States in the field of superweapons). Even when made in the form of a bomb, such a weapon does not cause significant material destruction - a small explosive charge is used to disperse radioactive dust into the air.

During a nuclear explosion, a significant amount of various unstable isotopes is formed, in addition, contamination occurs with induced radioactivity resulting from neutron ionizing radiation of soil and objects. However, the level of radiation after a nuclear explosion drops relatively quickly, so the most dangerous period can be waited out in a bomb shelter, and the contaminated area after a few years becomes suitable for use for economic purposes and for living. For example, Hiroshima, which suffered from a uranium bomb, and Nagasaki, where a plutonium bomb was detonated, began to be rebuilt four years after the explosions.

It happens quite differently when a fairly powerful explosion explodes.” dirty bomb", specifically designed to maximize contamination of the territory and turn it into something like the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Different radioactive isotopes have different half-lives, ranging from microseconds to billions of years. The most unpleasant of them are those whose half-lives occur over years - a time significant relative to the duration human life: you can’t sit them out in a bomb shelter; if they are sufficiently contaminated, the area remains radioactively dangerous for several decades, and generations will have time to change several times before it is possible to work and live again in a destroyed city (or other territory).

The most dangerous isotopes for humans include strontium-90 and strontium-89, cesium-137, zinc-64, tantalum-181. It should be kept in mind that different isotopes have different effects on the body. For example, iodine-131, although it has a relatively short half-life of eight days, poses a serious danger because it accumulates quickly in the thyroid gland. Radioactive strontium accumulates in bones, cesium in muscle tissue, carbon is distributed throughout the body.

The units of measurement of radiation absorbed by the body are the sievert (Sv) and the outdated, but still found in publications, the rem (“biological equivalent of an x-ray,” 1 rem = 0.01 Sv). The normal dose of radioactive radiation received by humans from natural sources throughout the year is 0.0035−0.005 Sv. Irradiation of 1 Sv is the lower threshold for the development of radiation sickness: the immune system is significantly weakened, health deteriorates, bleeding, hair loss and the occurrence of male infertility are possible. At a dose of 3-5 Sv, without serious medical care, half of the victims die within 1-2 months; survivors have a high probability of developing cancer. At 6-10 Sv, a person’s bone marrow almost completely dies; without a complete transplant there is no chance of survival; death occurs within 1-4 weeks. If a person received more than 10 Sv, it is impossible to save him.

In addition to somatic (that is, arising directly in an irradiated person) consequences, there are also genetic ones - manifested in his offspring. It should be borne in mind that even with a relatively small dose of radioactive radiation of 0.1 Sv, the probability of gene mutations doubles.

Cobalt bomb

In 1952, Leo Szilard, the scientist who two decades earlier had discovered the nuclear chain reaction, former member Manhattan Project, in general outline proposed the following idea: if a hydrogen bomb is surrounded by a shell of ordinary cobalt-59, then during the explosion it will turn into an unstable isotope cobalt-60 with a half-life of about 5.5 years - a powerful source of gamma radiation. Widespread (including in fiction) it is a misconception that a cobalt bomb is an extremely powerful explosive device, a “super nuclear bomb” - but this is not the case. The main damaging factor of a cobalt bomb is not a nuclear explosion at all, but the maximum possible radiation contamination of the area, so this bomb is the most “dirty”, if you like, “super-dirty”. To Szilard's credit, it should be said that he made his proposal not from militaristic motives and not in a state of naive detachment from reality, often characteristic of the priests of science, but solely in order to demonstrate the absurdity, the suicidal senselessness of the race for superweapons. But later other scientists conducted accurate calculations and came to the conclusion that if the size of the cobalt bomb is sufficient (and quite realistic for production), it (or a set of similar bombs) will destroy all life on Earth. And how can we know now whether they made these calculations out of their own curiosity or after a call from the Pentagon: “calculate the possibility, effectiveness, cost, report by evening”?..

No one has ever before proposed a feasible weapon option (no matter how massive its destructive effect) capable of sterilizing the entire planet. In the 1950s, RAND research center analyst Herman Kahn introduced the concept of “Machines.” Last Judgment" A state possessing such a device is capable of dictating its will to the whole world, but it will be the will of a suicide bomber clutching a grenade without a pin in his hand.

As Harrison Brown said in a radio discussion with Leo Szilard, “It is much easier to destroy all of humanity with such a bomb than to destroy a specific part of it.”

This is probably why, to this day, the cobalt bomb - as far as we know - remains a “hypothetical” weapon, like “dirty bombs” in general. But the threat of their use is high, higher than the threat nuclear war. Especially in these stressful times. By the way, ironically, Szilard, like Heinlein who predicted the “dirty bomb,” was also known as a science fiction writer, the author of a number of science fiction stories, including those translated into Russian back in Soviet times.

So, the main destructive element of such weapons is still the scattered cobalt isotope. A nuclear or thermonuclear warhead is used exclusively to convert cobalt from its natural state to a radioactive state. Soon the term “Doomsday Machine” appeared for such devices. It became clear that a sufficient number of cobalt bombs could be guaranteed to destroy at least a large part of the Earth's population and the biosphere. In 1964, this super-cruelty of radiological weapons was played out in the feature film “Dr. Strangelove, or how I stopped being afraid and fell in love with the bomb” (directed by S. Kubrick). The same Dr. Strangelove from the movie title, having learned that the Soviet automatic system after the fall of an American bomb on the territory of the USSR, it set into motion the “Doomsday Machine”, he quickly calculated that the revival of humanity could begin only in more than ninety years. And then, with a number of appropriate measures, and the time for their implementation was rapidly decreasing.

The above-mentioned film is rightfully considered one of the best anti-militarist films. And, interestingly, the cannibalistic cobalt bomb was not proposed by Sillard out of a desire to quickly destroy a potential enemy. The physicist simply wanted to demonstrate the futility of further race in the field of weapons of mass destruction. In the mid-50s, American nuclear scientists calculated the technological and economic parts of the cobalt bomb project and were horrified. The creation of a Doomsday Machine capable of destroying all life on the planet was affordable for any country with nuclear technology. To avoid problems in the very near future, the Pentagon banned further work on the topic of dirty bombs using cobalt-60. This decision is quite understandable; in one of the radio broadcasts of the fifties with the participation of Sillard, a wonderful phrase was heard: “it is easier to destroy all of humanity with a cobalt bomb than a specific part of it.”

But stopping work on cobalt munitions did not guarantee that dirty bombs would not be used. The superpowers, and then the countries with nuclear technology, quickly came to the conclusion that such weapons made no sense. A nuclear or thermonuclear bomb can instantly destroy an enemy in in the right place. It will be possible to occupy this territory in a matter of days after the explosion, when the radiation level drops to an acceptable level. But radiological weapons cannot work as quickly as nuclear weapons and “liberate” the area from their consequences just as quickly. Dirty bomb as a deterrent? This application is hampered by exactly the same problems. It turns out that large developed countries do not need dirty ammunition. Thanks to all this, radiological weapons were never officially adopted, never tested, and, moreover, never used in practice.

Who benefits from this?

As far as is known, no state officially has radiological weapons. It is disadvantageous for traditional wars: a “dirty bomb” does not allow you to destroy the enemy instantly, like other types of weapons, its effect is extended over time, in addition, long years it makes the territory unsuitable for capture and use - and even for the entry of troops. As a deterrent weapon, a dirty bomb is also not the best option when there are missiles with nuclear warheads.

However, while the "dirty bomb" is not suitable for either "hot" or "cold" armed confrontation, it is quite suitable for groups waging war. unconventional methods, primarily terrorist. Radiological weapons make it possible to inflict maximum damage on civilians - therefore, they are an ideal means of deterrence. On September 11, 2001, during the largest terrorist attack under the ruins of the Twin Towers, almost 3,000 people died. If it had exploded in the same place medium power“dirty bomb” - the number of victims would go into the millions. The National Geographic Channel produced a 40-minute video showing the consequences of a hypothetical explosion of a small American-strontium “dirty bomb” in the middle of an American town - it clearly simulated the consequences of such an explosion.

Another dubious advantage of this type of weapon is its availability. In one of the publications on this topic, the “dirty bomb” was incorrectly, but very aptly called “an atomic bomb for the poor.” Only eight countries in the world have nuclear weapons. In order to make a real atomic bomb, you need resources that only developed countries have: research laboratories, high-tech production, and finally, weapons-grade uranium or plutonium, which cannot be obtained so easily. A “dirty” bomb can be made literally “on the knee”. Radioactive isotopes are now used very widely: in industry and energy, in medicine, in science and even in everyday life (for example, smoke detectors are often made based on americium-241), so if you want to obtain enough radioactive substances to make a bomb, it is not a problem. It is no coincidence that during US military operations in the Middle East and in the camps of Chechen militants, as the press writes, drawings of “dirty bombs” were found more than once (however, the latter could be a “duck”).

There is another unpleasant scenario, similar in effect to the use of radiological weapons: a terrorist attack with an ordinary explosion at a nuclear power plant.

Today, when the danger of terrorist attacks is high, people need to know what is happening and how to behave in the event of explosions, including explosions of “dirty bombs”. Apparently, here it is worth directing readers to the National Geographic film, which is called “Dirty Bomb”. And although the film demonstrates the actions of the American civil defense system, the Russian viewer can also glean a lot of useful information from it.

The earth is full of rumors

Despite the fact that “dirty bombs” were never produced or used in actual combat, journalistic “canards” related to this topic regularly appeared in the press, causing mixed reactions from both the public and intelligence agencies. For example, from 1955 to 1963 the British tested atomic charges in Maralinga (South Australia). As part of this program, Operation Antler was carried out, the purpose of which was to test thermonuclear weapons. The program included three tests with charges of different powers (0.93, 5.67 and 26.6 kilotons), and in the first case (code name - Tadje, September 14, 1957) radiochemical tags made of ordinary cobalt (Co-59) were located at the test site ), which under the influence of neutrons turns into cobalt-60. By measuring the intensity of gamma radiation from the tags after testing, one can fairly accurately judge the intensity of the neutron flux during an explosion. The word "cobalt" was leaked to the press, leading to rumors that Britain had not only built a dirty cobalt bomb, but was testing it. The rumors were not confirmed, but the “duck” seriously damaged Britain’s international image - to the point that a royal commission went to Maralinga to check what British nuclear scientists were actually doing in Australia.

Dirty bomb at home

So how many smoke detectors need to be picked apart so that the americium extracted in this way is enough to create a “dirty bomb” at home.

So, a modern HIS-07 smoke detector contains approximately 0.25 µg of americium-241 (0.9 µCi). The ancient Soviet RID-1 smoke detector contains two sources of 0.57 mCi of plutonium-239, which corresponds to approximately 8 mg (total 16 mg per sensor). The relatively new Soviet smoke detector RID-6M contains two sources of 5.7 µCi of plutonium-239, approximately 80 µg each (a total of 160 µg per sensor - not bad!).

The critical mass of a sphere of americium-241 under normal conditions without the use of a neutron reflector is estimated at 60 kg. The critical mass of a plutonium-239 sphere under normal conditions without the use of a neutron reflector is 11 kg. A neutron reflector and a well-thought-out implosion circuit could make it possible to create a bomb with only 0.2 of these masses. But even in this case, we will need plutonium from 140,000 RID-1 sensors, 14 million RID-6M sensors or 48 billion HIS-07.

As for the “dirty bomb,” we can say that the level of contamination of the earth’s surface will be dangerous at about 1 mCi/m2. This means that per 1 m² you need one RID-1, 100 RID-6M and 1000 HIS-07. But one RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator, used, for example, at remote lighthouses and weather stations) Beta-M is enough for 35,000 m². And a pollution level of about 1 µCi/m2 will certainly be harmful and beyond any standards. Accordingly, RID-1 can thoroughly dirty 1000 m², RID-6M - 10 m², and HIS-07 - 1 m². Well, RTG Beta-M will pollute no less than 35 km².

These are, of course, conditional figures. Different isotopes have different dangers. What exactly is considered dangerous and what is harmful is very controversial issue. Plus, small amounts are sprayed unevenly, so the actual areas of contamination will be much smaller.

It is no coincidence that third world countries are mentioned in the context of radiological weapons. The fact is that dirty bombs are sometimes called “beggars’ nuclear weapons.” In particular, this is why notes regularly appear in the media around the world that talk about the discovery of various parts light blueprints or even parts of a finished dirty bomb. I would really like all these messages to turn out to be banal newspaper ducks. There is ample reason to want just such an outcome. According to military analysts, if there had been a terrorist attack in New York on September 11, 2001, using not airplanes, but a dirty bomb... The number of victims would not have been in the thousands, but in the millions. In addition, a large part of the city would have to be turned into an exclusion zone similar to Chernobyl. In other words, radiological weapons can be considered a very attractive thing for terrorist organizations. Their “actions” are most often aimed at civilians, and dirty bombs could turn out to be a powerful “argument” in unreliable hands.

The accident at the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant can be considered the clearest example what could happen if radiological weapons are used. It should be noted that the actual impact of a real radiological bomb will be much weaker, if only because an explosion occurred in the nuclear power plant reactor with a power of at least several hundred kilograms of TNT (various unofficial sources even mention the equivalent of 100 tons), and after the explosion itself in the destroyed building was preserved favorable conditions to evaporate radioactive material. It is unlikely that anyone would make a dirty bomb with five hundred kilograms of trinitrotoluene. If only because it is impractical.

Despite the lack of commercially produced designs, dirty bombs can be considered very dangerous, although mostly fictional weapons. And yet there remains some possibility that a dirty bomb could end up in the hands of dangerous individuals with less than good intentions. Intelligence agencies around the world are obliged to do everything to prevent radiological weapons from becoming hypothetical and becoming fully existent - the cost of this will be too high.

I can tell you more about and about The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -

Shortly before the creation of the first atomic bomb, another idea appeared related to the use of radioactive materials. At the end of the 30s of the last century, when O. Gann and F. Strassmann had just discovered the phenomenon of nuclear fission, even scientists doubted the possibility of artificially starting a chain reaction of fission of uranium nuclei. As a result, the type of weapons that would soon be called nuclear was also in question. But even then they began to appear various projects the use of radioactive materials, primarily military. One of them was proposed by the aspiring writer R. Heinlein. In his 1940 story "The Bad Solution" of the country anti-Hitler coalition still couldn't master it chain reaction fission of uranium nuclei, and they had to drop conventional bombs filled with dust of radioactive metals on Berlin. Having received their share of radiation, the Nazis surrendered. Five years later, Germany actually signed capitulation, but no one dropped any dust bombs on its capitals. However, the unsuccessful “forecast” did not bury the idea itself. On the contrary, research will subsequently be conducted on the topic of such weapons. Already in the early 50s, the type of weapon that scattered radioactive dust over the attacked territory would be called radiological weapons. But the term “dirty bomb” will become more common.

The main difference between radiological weapons and nuclear weapons is that the latter has five damaging factors, and a dirty bomb only causes damage through radiation contamination. Thus, the most dangerous period of infection after a nuclear explosion can be waited out in a shelter, and after a few years, the territories affected by it can begin to be reused (for example, Hiroshima and Nagasaki began to be restored by the end of the forties). In turn, the radiological munition ensures long-term contamination of the area under attack. This can be considered both an advantage and disadvantage of dirty bombs.

At first, projects for a hypothetical dirty bomb were a direct borrowing from Heinlein - a container with a radioactive substance and an explosive charge that was supposed to scatter the isotope over the attacked area. Already in 1952, former participant in the Manhattan Project L. Sillard proposed a fundamentally new concept of radiological weapons. In his project, plates of the most common natural cobalt with an atomic weight of 60 units were attached to a conventional hydrogen bomb. During an explosion, temperature, pressure and neutron flux transform cobalt-60 into the isotope cobalt-59. The latter is not found in nature, but has high radioactivity. Thanks to the power of a hydrogen bomb, radioactive cobalt-59 is dispersed throughout large area. The half-life of cobalt-59 is more than five years, after which it passes into the excited state of nickel-60, and then into the ground state. There is a popular misconception about the cobalt bomb: it is sometimes considered a high-yield nuclear or thermonuclear weapon. However, this is not so: the main destructive element of such weapons is still the scattered cobalt isotope. A nuclear or thermonuclear warhead is used exclusively to convert cobalt from its natural state to a radioactive state. Soon the term “Doomsday Machine” appeared for such devices. It became clear that a sufficient number of cobalt bombs could be guaranteed to destroy at least a large part of the Earth's population and the biosphere. In 1964, this super-cruelty of radiological weapons was played out in the feature film “Dr. Strangelove, or how I stopped being afraid and fell in love with the bomb” (directed by S. Kubrick). The same Dr. Strangelove from the title of the movie, having learned that the Soviet automatic system, after the fall of an American bomb on the territory of the USSR, activated the “Doomsday Machine,” quickly calculated that the revival of humanity could begin only in more than ninety years. And then, with a number of appropriate measures, and the time for their implementation was rapidly decreasing.

Still from the film “Doctor Strangelove, or How I Stopped Being Afraid and Loved the Bomb” (directed by S. Kubrick)

But stopping work on cobalt munitions did not guarantee that dirty bombs would not be used. The superpowers, and then the countries with nuclear technology, quickly came to the conclusion that such weapons made no sense. A nuclear or thermonuclear bomb can instantly destroy the enemy in the right place. It will be possible to occupy this territory in a matter of days after the explosion, when the radiation level drops to an acceptable level. But radiological weapons cannot work as quickly as nuclear weapons and “liberate” the area from their consequences just as quickly. Dirty bomb as a deterrent? This application is hampered by exactly the same problems. It turns out that large developed countries do not need dirty ammunition. Thanks to all this, radiological weapons were never officially adopted, never tested, and, moreover, never used in practice.

At the same time, dirty bombs have several alarming features. Firstly, it is relatively affordable. In order to have an atomic or hydrogen bomb, you need appropriate enterprises, the proper level of science and many other important nuances. But for the production of radiological warheads, a certain amount of any radioactive substance is enough, and there are, as they say, a lot of explosives in the world. Radioactive material can be taken from anywhere - even uranium ore or medical supplies, although in the latter case you will have to “pick apart” quite a large number of containers intended for oncology departments of hospitals. After all, smoke detectors often use suitable isotopes, such as americium-241. However, such devices are a completely unacceptable “source” - in modern models such a tiny amount of isotopes that for a critical mass it will be necessary to dismantle several million devices. Perhaps there is no such villainous dictator of a third world country on our planet who would approve a project to create a dirty bomb from fire-fighting equipment.

It is no coincidence that third world countries are mentioned in the context of radiological weapons. The fact is that dirty bombs are sometimes called “beggars’ nuclear weapons.” In particular, this is why notes regularly appear in the media around the world that talk about the discovery of blueprints or even parts of a finished dirty bomb in various parts of the world. I would really like all these messages to turn out to be banal newspaper ducks. There is ample reason to want just such an outcome. According to military analysts, if there had been a terrorist attack in New York on September 11, 2001, using not airplanes, but a dirty bomb... The number of victims would not have been in the thousands, but in the millions. In addition, a large part of the city would have to be turned into an exclusion zone similar to Chernobyl. In other words, radiological weapons can be considered a very attractive thing for terrorist organizations. Their “actions” are most often aimed at civilians, and dirty bombs could turn out to be a powerful “argument” in unreliable hands.

The accident at the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant can be considered the clearest example of what can happen if radiological weapons are used. It should be noted that the actual impact of a real radiological bomb will be much weaker, if only because an explosion occurred in the nuclear power plant reactor with a power of at least several hundred kilograms of TNT (various unofficial sources even mention the equivalent of 100 tons), and after the explosion itself in In the destroyed structure, favorable conditions remained for the evaporation of radioactive material. It is unlikely that anyone would make a dirty bomb with five hundred kilograms of trinitrotoluene. If only because it is impractical.

It has now been established that the explosion of the Tunguska meteorite™ occurred due to its internal energy, and that its flight speed and density were relatively low. Observers from various places they saw it in different guises, most likely because it changed as a result of the violent interaction of the meteorite substance with the air. What kind of substance could it be, of which there was no trace left in the area of the disaster? The easiest way to assume that dark matter was a huge lump of hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, in one of its stable solid forms. Chemical energy, released during the combustion and explosion of such a block, could well have been enough for the destruction that took place, and the cosmic origin of the distilled water formed during the catastrophe could hardly have been determined even in 1908. The advantage of the hydrogen hypothesis over the cometary hypothesis, according to which the icy nucleus of a comet collided with the Earth, is that such a nucleus does not have the required reserve of internal energy. And its disadvantage is that nothing is known about the existence of solid homogeneous blocks in space, while much is known about the nuclei of comets. In particular, the fact that their composition, in addition to water, ammonia and methane ice, includes in the form of minor impurities such fusible and volatile elements as alkali metals, zinc, lead, mercury, bromine, antimony, tin. Namely, abnormally high content These elements were identified during the study using fine elemental analysis methods of samples of catastrophic peat layers taken at the epicenter of the explosion. According to some data, the main chemical elements of the mineral part of the Tunguska cosmic body are sodium (up to 50%), zinc (20%), calcium (more than 10%), iron (7.5%) and potassium (5%). That is, 65% of the mineral part of heavy metals consists of alkali and alkaline earth metals. If these elements were present in the HM body only as impurities, then they would not be able to create any noticeable anomaly in the soil. But the anomaly has been identified quite reliably, it objectively exists! So why not assume that sodium, calcium and potassium were not mere impurities, but the main substance of HM? Since they react violently with oxygen and water, releasing huge amounts of thermal and, most importantly, light energy, perhaps this simple assumption contains the solution to a long-standing mystery?!
Alkali metals are characterized by low density, low hardness, low temperatures melting and boiling, have the same type of crystal lattices and a silvery-white color. Extremely high chemical activity excludes the possibility of their being in a free state in terrestrial conditions. However, in outer space conditions, in the absence of reagents such as oxygen, hydrogen, water, they can exist indefinitely. This is proven by the nature of Io, one of the satellites of Jupiter, which contains a significant amount of sodium.

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