Cobalt bomb

Last updated

A cobalt bomb is a type of "salted bomb": a nuclear weapon designed to produce enhanced amounts of radioactive fallout, intended to contaminate a large area with radioactive material, potentially for the purpose of radiological warfare, mutual assured destruction or as doomsday devices. There is no firm evidence that such a device has ever been built or tested.

Contents

History

The concept of a cobalt bomb was originally described in a radio program by physicist Leó Szilárd on February 26, 1950. [1] His intent was not to propose that such a weapon be built, but to show that nuclear weapon technology would soon reach the point where it could end human life on Earth, a doomsday device. [2] [3]

The Operation Antler/Round 1 test by the British at the Tadje site in the Maralinga range in Australia on September 14, 1957, tested a bomb using cobalt pellets as a radiochemical tracer for estimating yield. This was considered a failure and the experiment was not repeated. [4] In Russia, the triple "taiga" nuclear salvo test, as part of the preliminary March 1971 Pechora–Kama Canal project, produced relatively high amounts of cobalt-60 (60Co or Co-60) from the steel that surrounded the Taiga devices, with this fusion-generated neutron activation product being responsible for about half of the gamma dose in 2011 at the test site. The high percentage contribution is largely because the devices primarily used fusion rather than fission reactions, so the quantity of gamma-emitting caesium-137 fallout was comparatively low. Photosynthesizing vegetation exists all around the lake that was formed. [5] [6]

In 2015, a page from an apparent Russian nuclear torpedo design was leaked. The design was titled "Oceanic Multipurpose System Status-6", later given the official name Poseidon. [7] [8] [9] [10] The document stated the torpedo would create "wide areas of radioactive contamination, rendering them unusable for military, economic or other activity for a long time." Its payload would be "many tens of megatons in yield". Russian government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta speculated that the warhead would be a cobalt bomb. It is not known whether the Status-6 is a real project, or whether it is Russian disinformation. [11] [12] In 2018 the Pentagon's annual Nuclear Posture Review stated Russia is developing a system called the "Status-6 Oceanic Multipurpose System". If Status-6 does exist, it is not publicly known whether the leaked 2015 design is accurate, nor whether the 2015 claim that the torpedo might be a cobalt bomb is genuine. [12] Amongst other comments on it, Edward Moore Geist wrote a paper in which he says that "Russian decision makers would have little confidence that these areas would be in the intended locations" [13] and Russian military experts are cited as saying that "robotic torpedoes could have other purposes, such as delivering deep-sea equipment or installing surveillance devices." [11]

Mechanism

Decay of cobalt-60 showing the release of powerful gamma rays. Cobalt-60m-decay.svg
Decay of cobalt-60 showing the release of powerful gamma rays.

A cobalt bomb could be made by placing a quantity of ordinary cobalt metal (59Co) around a thermonuclear bomb. When the bomb explodes, the neutrons produced by the fusion reaction in the secondary stage of the thermonuclear bomb's explosion would transmute the cobalt to the radioactive cobalt-60, which would be vaporized by the explosion. The cobalt would then condense and fall back to Earth with the dust and debris from the explosion, contaminating the ground.

The deposited cobalt-60 would have a half-life of 5.27 years, decaying into 60Ni and emitting two gamma rays with energies of 1.17 and 1.33 MeV, hence the overall nuclear equation of the reaction is:

59
27Co
 + n → 60
27Co
 → 60
28Ni
 + e− + gamma rays.

Nickel-60 is a stable isotope and undergoes no further decays after the transmutation is complete.

The 5.27 year half life of the 60Co is long enough to allow it to settle out before significant decay has occurred, and to render it impractical to wait in shelters for it to decay, yet short enough that intense radiation is produced. [4] Many isotopes are more radioactive (gold-198, tantalum-182, zinc-65, sodium-24, and many more), but they would decay faster, possibly allowing some population to survive in shelters.

Fallout from cobalt bombs in comparison to other nuclear weapons

Fission products are more deadly than neutron-activated cobalt in the first few weeks following detonation. After one to six months, the fission products from even a large-yield thermonuclear weapon decay to levels tolerable by humans. The large-yield two-stage (a fission trigger/primary with a fusion–fission secondary) thermonuclear weapon is thus automatically a weapon of radiological warfare, but its fallout decays much more rapidly than that of a cobalt bomb. A cobalt bomb's fallout on the other hand would render affected areas effectively stuck in this interim state for decades: habitable, but not safe for constant habitation.

Initially, gamma radiation from the fission products of an equivalent size fission-fusion-fission bomb are much more intense than Co-60: 15,000 times more intense at 1 hour; 35 times more intense at 1 week; 5 times more intense at 1 month; and about equal at 6 months. Thereafter fission product fallout radiation levels drop off rapidly, so that Co-60 fallout is 8 times more intense than fission at 1 year and 150 times more intense at 5 years. The very long-lived isotopes produced by fission would overtake the 60Co again after about 75 years. [14]

Complete 100% conversion into Co-60 is unlikely; a 1957 British experiment at Maralinga showed that Co-59's neutron absorption ability was much lower than predicted, resulting in a very limited formation of Co-60 isotope in practice.

In addition, fallout is not deposited evenly throughout the path downwind from a detonation, so some areas would be relatively unaffected by fallout and the Earth would not be universally rendered lifeless by a cobalt bomb. [15] The fallout and devastation following a nuclear detonation does not scale upwards linearly with the explosive yield (equivalent to tons of TNT). As a result, the concept of "overkill"—the idea that one can simply estimate the destruction and fallout created by a thermonuclear weapon of the size postulated by Leo Szilard's "cobalt bomb" thought experiment by extrapolating from the effects of thermonuclear weapons of smaller yields—is fallacious. [16] [ dubious – discuss ] However, nuclear devices exploded at high altitudes result in much more widespread but slower fallout, especially for dirty or cobalt-like weapons. The radioactive isotopes are caught in the natural global meteorological processes which, because of the extraordinary hardiness of the isotope, will cycle many times throughout the condensation and evaporation process, resulting in global spread and the effective destruction of usable water for plants, land animals, humans, and sea life.[ citation needed ]

Example of radiation levels vs. time

For the type of radiation given by a cobalt bomb, the dosage measured in sievert (Sv) and gray (Gy) can be treated as equivalent. This is because the relevant harmful radiation from cobalt-60 is gamma rays. When converting between sievert and gray for gamma rays, the radiation type weighting factor will be 1, and the radiation will be a highly penetrating radiation spread evenly over the body so the tissue type weighting factor will also be 1.

Assume a cobalt bomb deposits intense fallout causing a dose rate of 10 Sv per hour. At this dose rate, any unsheltered person exposed to the fallout would receive a lethal dose in about 30 minutes (assuming a median lethal dose of 5 Sv [17] ). People in well-built shelters would be safe due to radiation shielding.

Decontamination

It may be possible to decontaminate relatively small areas contaminated by a cobalt bomb with equipment such as excavators and bulldozers covered with lead glass, similar to those employed in the Lake Chagan project. [20] By skimming off the thin layer of fallout on the topsoil surface and burying it in the likes of a deep trench along with isolating it from ground water sources, the gamma air dose is cut by orders of magnitude. [21] [22] The decontamination after the Goiânia accident in Brazil in 1987 and the possibility of a "dirty bomb" with Co-60, which has similarities with the environment that one would be faced with after a nuclear yielding cobalt bomb's fallout had settled, has prompted the invention of "Sequestration Coatings" and cheap liquid phase sorbents for Co-60 that would further aid in decontamination, including that of water. [23] [24] [25]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear weapon</span> Explosive weapon that utilizes nuclear reactions

A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion reactions, producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb types release large quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter.

A neutron bomb, officially defined as a type of enhanced radiation weapon (ERW), is a low-yield thermonuclear weapon designed to maximize lethal neutron radiation in the immediate vicinity of the blast while minimizing the physical power of the blast itself. The neutron release generated by a nuclear fusion reaction is intentionally allowed to escape the weapon, rather than being absorbed by its other components. The neutron burst, which is used as the primary destructive action of the warhead, is able to penetrate enemy armor more effectively than a conventional warhead, thus making it more lethal as a tactical weapon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear fallout</span> Residual radioactive material following a nuclear blast

Nuclear fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust and ash created when a nuclear weapon explodes. The amount and spread of fallout is a product of the size of the weapon and the altitude at which it is detonated. Fallout may get entrained with the products of a pyrocumulus cloud and fall as black rain. This radioactive dust, usually consisting of fission products mixed with bystanding atoms that are neutron-activated by exposure, is a form of radioactive contamination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear technology</span> Technology that involves the reactions of atomic nuclei

Nuclear technology is technology that involves the nuclear reactions of atomic nuclei. Among the notable nuclear technologies are nuclear reactors, nuclear medicine and nuclear weapons. It is also used, among other things, in smoke detectors and gun sights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear weapon design</span> Process by which nuclear WMDs are designed and produced

Nuclear weapon designs are physical, chemical, and engineering arrangements that cause the physics package of a nuclear weapon to detonate. There are three existing basic design types:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mushroom cloud</span> Cloud of debris and smoke from a large explosion

A mushroom cloud is a distinctive mushroom-shaped flammagenitus cloud of debris, smoke, and usually condensed water vapor resulting from a large explosion. The effect is most commonly associated with a nuclear explosion, but any sufficiently energetic detonation or deflagration will produce the same effect. They can be caused by powerful conventional weapons, like thermobaric weapons such as the ATBIP and GBU-43/B MOAB. Some volcanic eruptions and impact events can produce natural mushroom clouds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radiological warfare</span> Attacks using radioactive material with intent of contamination of an area

Radiological warfare is any form of warfare involving deliberate radiation poisoning or contamination of an area with radiological sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear fission product</span> Atoms or particles produced by nuclear fission

Nuclear fission products are the atomic fragments left after a large atomic nucleus undergoes nuclear fission. Typically, a large nucleus like that of uranium fissions by splitting into two smaller nuclei, along with a few neutrons, the release of heat energy, and gamma rays. The two smaller nuclei are the fission products..

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neutron activation</span> Induction of radioactivity by neutron radiation

Neutron activation is the process in which neutron radiation induces radioactivity in materials, and occurs when atomic nuclei capture free neutrons, becoming heavier and entering excited states. The excited nucleus decays immediately by emitting gamma rays, or particles such as beta particles, alpha particles, fission products, and neutrons. Thus, the process of neutron capture, even after any intermediate decay, often results in the formation of an unstable activation product. Such radioactive nuclei can exhibit half-lives ranging from small fractions of a second to many years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iodine-131</span> Isotope of iodine

Iodine-131 is an important radioisotope of iodine discovered by Glenn Seaborg and John Livingood in 1938 at the University of California, Berkeley. It has a radioactive decay half-life of about eight days. It is associated with nuclear energy, medical diagnostic and treatment procedures, and natural gas production. It also plays a major role as a radioactive isotope present in nuclear fission products, and was a significant contributor to the health hazards from open-air atomic bomb testing in the 1950s, and from the Chernobyl disaster, as well as being a large fraction of the contamination hazard in the first weeks in the Fukushima nuclear crisis. This is because 131I is a major fission product of uranium and plutonium, comprising nearly 3% of the total products of fission. See fission product yield for a comparison with other radioactive fission products. 131I is also a major fission product of uranium-233, produced from thorium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isotopes of iodine</span> Nuclides with atomic number of 53 but with different mass numbers

There are 37 known isotopes of iodine (53I) from 108I to 144I; all undergo radioactive decay except 127I, which is stable. Iodine is thus a monoisotopic element.

A pure fusion weapon is a hypothetical hydrogen bomb design that does not need a fission "primary" explosive to ignite the fusion of deuterium and tritium, two heavy isotopes of hydrogen used in fission-fusion thermonuclear weapons. Such a weapon would require no fissile material and would therefore be much easier to develop in secret than existing weapons. Separating weapons-grade uranium (U-235) or breeding plutonium (Pu-239) requires a substantial and difficult-to-conceal industrial investment, and blocking the sale and transfer of the needed machinery has been the primary mechanism to control nuclear proliferation to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cobalt-60</span> Radioactive isotope of cobalt

Cobalt-60 (60Co) is a synthetic radioactive isotope of cobalt with a half-life of 5.2714 years. It is produced artificially in nuclear reactors. Deliberate industrial production depends on neutron activation of bulk samples of the monoisotopic and mononuclidic cobalt isotope 59
Co
. Measurable quantities are also produced as a by-product of typical nuclear power plant operation and may be detected externally when leaks occur. In the latter case the incidentally produced 60
Co
 is largely the result of multiple stages of neutron activation of iron isotopes in the reactor's steel structures via the creation of its 59
Co
 precursor. The simplest case of the latter would result from the activation of 58
Fe
. 60
Co
 undergoes beta decay to the stable isotope nickel-60. The activated cobalt nucleus emits two gamma rays with energies of 1.17 and 1.33 MeV, hence the overall equation of the nuclear reaction is: 59
27Co
 + n → 60
27Co
 → 60
28Ni
 + e− + 2 γ

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caesium-137</span> Radioactive isotope of caesium

Caesium-137, cesium-137 (US), or radiocaesium, is a radioactive isotope of caesium that is formed as one of the more common fission products by the nuclear fission of uranium-235 and other fissionable isotopes in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Trace quantities also originate from spontaneous fission of uranium-238. It is among the most problematic of the short-to-medium-lifetime fission products. Caesium-137 has a relatively low boiling point of 671 °C (1,240 °F) and easily becomes volatile when released suddenly at high temperature, as in the case of the Chernobyl nuclear accident and with atomic explosions, and can travel very long distances in the air. After being deposited onto the soil as radioactive fallout, it moves and spreads easily in the environment because of the high water solubility of caesium's most common chemical compounds, which are salts. Caesium-137 was discovered by Glenn T. Seaborg and Margaret Melhase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental radioactivity</span> Radioactivity naturally present within the Earth

Environmental radioactivity is produced by radioactive materials in the human environment. While some radioisotopes, such as strontium-90 (90Sr) and technetium-99 (99Tc), are only found on Earth as a result of human activity, and some, like potassium-40 (40K), are only present due to natural processes, a few isotopes, e.g. tritium (3H), result from both natural processes and human activities. The concentration and location of some natural isotopes, particularly uranium-238 (238U), can be affected by human activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strontium-90</span> Radioactive isotope of strontium

Strontium-90 is a radioactive isotope of strontium produced by nuclear fission, with a half-life of 28.8 years. It undergoes β− decay into yttrium-90, with a decay energy of 0.546 MeV. Strontium-90 has applications in medicine and industry and is an isotope of concern in fallout from nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons testing, and nuclear accidents.

This article compares the radioactivity release and decay from the Chernobyl disaster with various other events which involved a release of uncontrolled radioactivity.

The Pechora–Kama Canal, or sometimes the Kama–Pechora Canal, was a proposed canal intended to link the basin of the Pechora River in the north of European Russia with the basin of the Kama, a tributary of the Volga. Completion of this project would integrate the Pechora into the system of waterways of European Russia, centered on the Volga – something that was of importance before the advent of railways, or before the first railway reached the Pechora in the 1940s. Later the project was proposed mostly to transfer Pechora's water to the Volga and further on to the Caspian Sea.

A salted bomb is a nuclear weapon designed to function as a radiological weapon by producing larger quantities of radioactive fallout than unsalted nuclear arms. This fallout can render a large area uninhabitable. The term is derived both from the means of their manufacture, which involves the incorporation of additional elements to a standard atomic weapon, and from the expression "to salt the earth", meaning to render an area uninhabitable for generations. The idea originated with Hungarian-American physicist Leo Szilard, in February 1950. His intent was not to propose that such a weapon be built, but to show that nuclear weapon technology would soon reach the point where it could end human life on Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gamma ray</span> Energetic electromagnetic radiation arising from radioactive decay of atomic nuclei

A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol
γ
), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically shorter than those of X-rays. With frequencies above 30 exahertz (3×1019 Hz), each gamma ray imparts the highest photon energy of any form of electromagnetic radiation. Paul Villard, a French chemist and physicist, discovered gamma radiation in 1900 while studying radiation emitted by radium. In 1903, Ernest Rutherford named this radiation gamma rays based on their relatively strong penetration of matter; in 1900 he had already named two less penetrating types of decay radiation (discovered by Henri Becquerel) alpha rays and beta rays in ascending order of penetrating power.

References

  1. ↑ Clegg, Brian (2012-12-11). Armageddon Science: The Science of Mass Destruction. St. Martins Griffin. p.  77. ISBN   978-1-250-01649-2.
  2. ↑ Bhushan, K.; G. Katyal (2002). Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare. India: APH Publishing. pp. 75–77. ISBN   978-81-7648-312-4.
  3. ↑ Sublette, Carey (July 2007). "Types of nuclear weapons". FAQ. The Nuclear Weapon Archive. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
  4. 1 2 "1.6 Cobalt Bombs and other Salted Bombs" . Retrieved February 10, 2011.
  5. ↑ Ramzaev, V.; Repin, V.; Medvedev, A.; Khramtsov, E.; Timofeeva, M.; Yakovlev, V. (2011). "Radiological investigations at the 'Taiga' nuclear explosion site: Site description and in situ measurements". Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. 102 (7): 672–680. doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2011.04.003. PMID   21524834.
  6. ↑ Ramzaev, V.; Repin, V.; Medvedev, A.; Khramtsov, E.; Timofeeva, M.; Yakovlev, V. (2012). "Radiological investigations at the 'Taiga' nuclear explosion site, part II: man-made γ-ray emitting radionuclides in the ground and the resultant kerma rate in air". Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. 109: 1–12. doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2011.12.009. PMID   22541991.
  7. ↑ "U.S. calls for new nuclear weapons as Russia develops nuclear-armed torpedo". USA TODAY. 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  8. ↑ Trevithick, Joseph (2018-07-19). "Russia Releases Videos Offering An Unprecedented Look At Its Six New Super Weapons". The Drive. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  9. ↑ Peck, Michael (2015-12-08). "Russia's New Super-Torpedo Carries the Threat of Nuclear Contamination". The National Interest .
  10. ↑ "'Secret' Russian nuclear torpedo blueprint leaked". Fox News. November 12, 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Russia reveals giant nuclear torpedo in state TV 'leak'". BBC News . November 12, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  12. 1 2 "Buried In Trump's Nuclear Report: A Russian Doomsday Weapon". NPR.org. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  13. ↑ Geist, Edward Moore (July 3, 2016). "Would Russia's undersea "doomsday drone" carry a cobalt bomb?". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 72 (4): 238–242. Bibcode:2016BuAtS..72d.238G. doi:10.1080/00963402.2016.1195199. S2CID   147795467.
  14. ↑ "Section 1.0 Types of Nuclear Weapons". nuclearweaponarchive.org.
  15. ↑ Glasstone, Samuel; Dolan, Philip J., eds. (1977). "The Effects of Nuclear Weapons" (PDF) (3rd ed.). Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Defense and Department of Energy. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. ↑ Martinus, Brian (December 1982). "The global health effects of nuclear war". Current Affairs Bulletin. 59 (7): 14–26.
  17. ↑ "Lethal dose (LD)". www.nrc.gov. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  18. ↑ Icrp (2007). "The 2007 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection". Annals of the ICRP. ICRP publication 103. 37 (2–4). ISBN   978-0-7020-3048-2 . Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  19. ↑ United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (2008). Sources and effects of ionizing radiation. New York: United Nations (published 2010). p. 4. ISBN   978-92-1-142274-0 . Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  20. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : Born of Nuclear Blast: Russia's Lakes of Mystery. YouTube. November 28, 2010.
  21. ↑ Joint FAO/IAEA Programme. "Joint Division Questions & Answers - Nuclear Emergency Response for Food and Agriculture, NAFA". iaea.org.
  22. ↑ International Atomic Energy Agency International Atomic Enmergy Agency, 2000 - Technology & Engineering - restoration of environments with radioactive residues : papers and discussions, 697 pages
  23. ↑ "Scavenging cobalt from radwaste". neimagazine.com.
  24. ↑ "Sequestration Coating Performance Requirements for Mitigation of Contamination from a Radiological Dispersion Device- 9067" (PDF). Wmsym.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  25. ↑ Drake, John. "Sequestration Coating Performance Requirements for Mitigation of Contamination from a Radiological Dispersion Device" (PDF). Cfpub.epa.gov. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  26. ↑ Smith, P. D. (25 September 2008). "Doomsday Men: The Real Dr Strangelove and the Dream of the Superweapon". Penguin UK.
  27. ↑ Kuberski, Philip (2012). Kubrick's Total Cinema: Philosophical Themes and Formal Qualities. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN   9781441149565.
  28. ↑ "No Mr Bond, I don't know about anything radioactivity". Science by degrees. 2018-02-21. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  29. ↑ "Excerpt from The Sum of All Fears". Penguin Random House Canada. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  30. ↑ Peel, John (1991). "Timewyrm: Genesis". The Internet Archive. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.