The Electromagnetic Signal due to the Exclusion of the Earth's Magnetic Field by Nuclear Explosions.
Abstract
There are three mechanisms by which a vertical magnetic field might be generated by a nuclear explosion. Only two methods are treated. Compton currents produced by explosion gamma rays might interact with the earth's field and generat a back field tending to cancel the earth's field in a region about the explosion. Such a cancellation would be equivalent to radiation from a magnetic dipole and therefore could lead to a vertical magnetic field. On a much longer time scale, the blast wave motion of the heated (conducting) air surrounding the explosion might exclude the earth's field and thus generate a low frequency variation in the vertical component of the magnetic field. It is shown that due to air co ductivity and the fact that gamma rays travel with light speed, the Compton currents do not exclude the earth's field. The blast wave motion does exclude the fiel and the magnitude of the resultant electromagnetic field is estimated. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1961
- Accession Number
- AD0281771
Entities
Organizations
- RAND Corporation