Green Bullets not so green

XEHRpa

[XEHRpa]

I had the opportunity to hear a talk by a US Army scientist (pathologist??) from an Army medical laboratory based in Bethesda, Maryland the other day, and the topic was quite eye-opening. I should add the disclaimer that I am not in the medical field, but rather in the terminal ballistics research area for the US military.

Since the author indicated the result will soon be sent to the open literature journals, and since the audience was international, I feel free to reveal some of what he related.

As background, there is this ongoing struggle in the military community to find a suitable replacement for depleted uranium (DU) munitions, as the environmental lobby and all of our international allies scream bloody murder over the evils of DU (which is what's left after enriched nuclear fuel is extracted... meaning it is far less radioactive than the naturally occuring stuff).

The US is the only purveyor of DU bullets (i.e., tank or aircraft launched large-cal bullets)... the rest of the green world uses tungsten alloys as a "green" alternative. The problem is, the US maintains that DU bullets are slightly better than their tungsten equivalents, and so has resisted the green-lobby's efforts to force us out of DU munitions production.

In this context, and in the aftermath of Gulf War I friendly-fire incidents where US soldiers survived attack by DU munitions (but received inextractable numbers of embedded fragments), the question arose amongst these soldiers "am I gonna die of cancer?" The problem was further exacerbated by the rumor that Gulf War Syndrome was caused by DU contamination, though as an aside (not part of this talk, but added by myself) recent result indicate that it is the result of low-level nerve agent poisoning from destroying Saddam's stockpiles.

Anyhow, after the Army failed to respond promply to the inquiries, these soldiers went through their Congressmen to get funded a program through the speaker's agency to test in rats the effects of embedded DU. As an afterthought, they expanded the program to include militarily relevant tungsten alloys, since these are supposedly the green alternatives to DU.

Well, to the the shocking surprise of all, the tungsten alloys embedded in the rats have proven more carcenogenically toxic than the toxic standard (which is nickel), providing 100% cancer rates in the rat pool within a 6 month window. By contrast, DU, has shown zero carcinogenic effects relative to the control metal(tantalum).

While the US is the only country that uses DU munitions, 30 countries manufacture tungsten munitions and 70 countries utilize them. While the Army heirarchy hasn't seemed to grasp the full implications of this result yet, I predict that this research will have major implications on the future of US and world munitions.

And once again, the environmentalists have led us and our allies down the wrong path. An interesting anecdote told by the researcher (unrelated to his research) was about a civilian test range in Massachusetts that went from lead bullets to tungsten bullets, because lead levels in the local water supply were becoming elevated. What happened was that the tungsten lowered the pH in the soil, thus allowing more lead to leach out, and the lead levels thus went up after discontinuing lead bullets. Interesting lessons to be learned regarding true versus knee-jerk environmentalism. And as far as DU munitions go, I'm for what best defeats our enemies, which in this case, and to the surprise of the community, seems to also be the more environmental alternative which is DU.

[Phsstpok]

unintended consequences ping

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Facts don't matter.

When science illiterates hear the word "uranium," nothing else will penetrate their brain cell.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

I'm no ballistics expert, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night - so what is the advantage that depleted uranium give the munitions - is it ability to pierce armor? What is the mechanism by which it penetrates armor better than the alternatives? TIA

[TYVets]

Put the environmentalists on the front lines where they can be human shields for our military.

Or put them on the point armed with paint ball guns.

[Djarum]

Bang!

[OSHA]

Paint the DU projectiles green and viola, green bullets!

[XEHRpa]

Yes, it has to do with penetration ability. It appears that the reason has to do with the microstructural failure mechanisms of the respective materials, in that tungsten forms a bulbous flow at the rod/target interface that tends to make the crater slightly wider, at the expense of deeper.

[Boundless]

> unintended consequences ping

Uh oh. Aren't the "HeavyShot" shotgun pellets
made of tungsten?

HS is sold as an alternative to steel shot,
and has superior ballistics, but if it's
dangerous to eat the game you shoot with it
(due to risk of pellet ingestion) ...

What's left to try, osmium?

[Boundless]

> ... so what is the advantage that depleted
> uranium give the munitions ...

vs. lead?
Denser (65%), harder, pyrophoric

Kills tanks dead, on contact
(say isn't that a bug spray tag line?)

[SAJ]

Very likely, the fact that uranium is the heaviest naturally occurring element has a good deal to do with it. At the same muzzle velocity as a projectile made of other material(s), a DU projectile of the same size/caliber carries multiplicatively more momentum. Doubtless costs a bit more in the raw cost of propulsion, whether powder or another substance, but packs a heck of a punch. The A-10 Warthog's cannon uses DU shells, and these go through the (typical) thin armour plate atop tanks just like a hot knife through butter, but with much nastier consequences.

BTW, the radioactivity level of DU is next to nothing; you can probably get more exposure to radioactivity by tending a garden in Denver than by playing cards on top of a case of DU ammo.

[ko_kyi]

I have read that since it is both denser than lead and about as hard as steel it is the best armor-piercing material.

[Max Combined]

"is the advantage that depleted uranium give the munitions"

Density.

[Paradox]

Figures, the "green" movement isn't about getting results, its about combating technological progress. Thanks for this report, kudos to ya!

[TERMINATTOR]

Don't eat em. Miss Manners leaves her depleated uranium and tungsten pellets on the side of her plate.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

What is the mechanism by which it penetrates armor better than the alternatives?

"A heavy metal with very high density (1.7 times heavier than lead), DU has high kinetic energy for its volume. And thanks to its unique properties, DU actually sustains its own combustion when ignited, which enables it to literally melt and "sharpen" as it penetrates armor, increasing its destructive capabilities."

[El Sordo]

Material properties. Specifically it's deformation characteristics and its density, I believe. DU is very dense and can delivery far more energy to the target.

[RippleFire]

bump

[knarf]

"as the environmental lobby and all of our international allies scream bloody murder over the evils of DU (which is what's left after enriched nuclear fuel is extracted... meaning it is far less radioactive than the naturally occuring stuff)."

I know, I know ... it's excerpted and I'm thinking out of context ... but ... just think about that phrase.

Priceless.

Now I'll go and read the entire article.

[supercat]

Very likely, the fact that uranium is the heaviest naturally occurring element has a good deal to do with it.

I thought gold, platinum, osmium, and irridium were more dense. Though I'd wonder what was in the pipe of anyone who suggested those as alternatives to depleted uranium.