Gamma-ray weapons could trigger next arms race

From New Scientist Online News ^ | 19:00 13 August 03 | By David Hambling

[vannrox]

Very interesting.

[MD_Willington_1976]

Wonder if that baby nuke will fit in the 20mm round of the OICW?

[The Raven]

Arms race with which country?

[blackdog]

In 20 years the public school graduates of today will make their way into the workforce. Any such programmes are doomed. We'll be lucky to have a catapault and a rock.

[Sender]

Wow. I can't wait to get me some hafnium M-80s!

[wretchard]

If they can control the release of this energy, it would permit power packs of extraordinary density. The idea of storing the energy equivalent of 50 tons of explosive in a single gram means batteries of stupendous power. There are less than about 500 grams to a pound.

[wretchard]

Sorry, not 50 tons, but kilograms. Still that is a lot of punch.

[RightWingAtheist]

Great. If you don't shoot your eye with it, it'll turn you into the Incredible Hulk. :-)

[SauronOfMordor]

A few years back, there was talk about the russians having a very small form of tac nuke, about the size of a baseball.

I'm wondering if it might have been this. If 1 gram has the explosive force of 5 kilos of TNT, a kilo would be 5 metric tons, which is a pretty impressive blast. It probably would not set off radiation alarms, making it a good terrorist weapon.

As an energy-storage medium, it's also impressive, particularly since you can "recharge" it

[coloradan]

Gamma rays aren't exactly easy to efficiently convert to electricity on a small scale. "Killing those all around" provides a hint.

[SauronOfMordor]

5=50, even more impressive (when I get the right numbers off the silly article)

[kabar]

I thought we already had this weapon, i.e., the neutron bomb.

[coloradan]

The energy is stored in atomic nucleii, and so would be "nuclear weapons" under any reasonable definition of the word. They are not fission nor fusion, however.

[RightWhale]

Might be of use in outer space applications such as a moon or Mars base.

[coloradan]

Nope, those are fission or bombs adjusted to emit lots of neutrons, which are fatal. You have to make a supercritical mass to do this. This weapon, however, does not rely on fission, and releases gamma rays, not neutrons. There is no lower threshold like a critical mass that must be assembled for the weapon to work.

[SauronOfMordor]

The Isomer State of HF-178(16+)

Authors: Zajac, Taras M.; UZHGOROD STATE UNIV (UKRAINE) DEPT OF PHYSICS

Abstract: This report results from a contract tasking Uzhgorod State University as follows: The contractor will investigate the nuclear levels of the 178Hf isomer and the transition probabilities between the levels as described in his proposals.

Pages: 25

Report Date: 1997

[HitmanLV]

All together now...

Doc Bruce Banner, belted by gamma rays,
turns into the Hulk, ain't he unglamorous?

Wreckin' the town with the power of a bull,
Ain't no monster clown, who is that lovable?

It's ever lovin' Hulk! HULK! HULK

[Fedora]

A gamma-ray arms race could lead to a real showdown:

[Fedora]

You beat me to it by one post :)