Improvement of Specter II Code: Injection and Evolution of an Artificial Radiation Belt
Abstract
Further improvements have been made in the SPECTER codes which compute the nuclear environment resulting from a high-altitude nuclear explosion and irradiation of satellites in that environment. A realistic model has been developed for the computation of fission-debris distribution in the magnetosphere. The model uses as input the distribution of debris and hot ionized air in the vicinity of the magnetic bubble. It computes the subsequent evolution of the distribution as the plasma expands along and across the magnetic field. The motion across the magnetic field is determined by using an equivalent LCR circuit to find the ionospheric currents, which neutralize the transverse polarization fields. For a yield larger than 1 Megaton it was found that the tube containing the debris was convected outward from an initial L of 1.16 to beyond the maximum L value for trapping.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1979
- Accession Number
- ADA073645
Entities
People
- G. T. Davidson
- J. B. Cladis
- L. L. Newkirk
- M. Walt
- W. E. Francis
Organizations
- Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space