HF RADIO MEASUREMENTS OF THE HIGH-ALTITUDE ACOUSTIC EFFECTS OF A GROUND- LEVEL EXPLOSION

Abstract

An hf radio experiment was performed to measure the high-altitude effect of the vertically traveling pressure wave resulting from a large ground- level explosion. The blast--Project Snowball--consisted of 500 tons of TNT and was detonated at the Suffield Experimental Station, Alberta, Canada, July, 1964. The ionospheric disturbance was monitored using vertical-incidence, phase- sensitive sounders located 85 km from ground zero. Simple, linear, acoustic theory was used to calculate the onset time, amplitude, and period of the radio- signal disturbance. These calculations agree closely with measurements taken by the vertical-incidence sounders--onset time was predicted within 10 sec, and both amplitude and period agreed within a factor of two.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 1965
Accession Number
AD0467419

Entities

People

  • G. H. Barry
  • J. C. Taenzer
  • L. J. Griffiths

Organizations

  • Stanford University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustic Propagation
  • Acoustic Waves
  • Altitude
  • Amplitude
  • Contracts
  • Data Processing
  • Electrons
  • Explosions
  • Ground Level
  • High Altitude
  • Measurement
  • Radio Frequency Pulses
  • Radio Signals
  • Radio Waves
  • Shock Waves
  • Wave Propagation
  • Waves

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science
  • Physics

Readers

  • Explosive Engineering.
  • Space/Atmospheric Physics.