Shape charging a nuke?

TheMuffinKing · Post by **TheMuffinKing** » 2006-02-21 11:36pm

Can it be done?

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2006-02-21 11:44pm

No that is really isn't possibul without pure magic for technology. A shaped charge works by positioning explosives around a void space. A nuclear device meanwhile, releases all its energy from a single expanding point. The conventional explosives which set off a nuclear fission device, are however a form a shaped charge.

Lord of the Abyss · Post by **Lord of the Abyss** » 2006-02-22 05:11am

Sea Skimmer wrote:No that is really isn't possibul without pure magic for technology. A shaped charge works by positioning explosives around a void space. A nuclear device meanwhile, releases all its energy from a single expanding point. The conventional explosives which set off a nuclear fission device, are however a form a shaped charge.

I'm not expert, but I've seen descriptions/diagrams of shaped charges that aren't at all like you describe. They use segments of explosives that burn at different speeds; the shockwave from the fast burning explosives shapes the blast from the larger, slower charge.

I read a Scentific American article on the subject, claiming it could be done in a similar fashion. Multiple small bombs would be used to focus the blast of a much larger bomb into a sort of stream.

dragon · Post by **dragon** » 2006-02-22 08:44am

Lord of the Abyss wrote:
Sea Skimmer wrote:No that is really isn't possibul without pure magic for technology. A shaped charge works by positioning explosives around a void space. A nuclear device meanwhile, releases all its energy from a single expanding point. The conventional explosives which set off a nuclear fission device, are however a form a shaped charge.
I'm not expert, but I've seen descriptions/diagrams of shaped charges that aren't at all like you describe. They use segments of explosives that burn at different speeds; the shockwave from the fast burning explosives shapes the blast from the larger, slower charge.

I read a Scentific American article on the subject, claiming it could be done in a similar fashion. Multiple small bombs would be used to focus the blast of a much larger bomb into a sort of stream.

There are two types of nukes. One the material has to be compressed uniformly into a critical mass. . The second type of nuke would take two sub critical masses and slam them to together causing the material to reach critical mass. Called a gun triggered critical mass.

The simplest way to bring the subcritical masses together is to make a gun that fires one mass into the other. A sphere of U-235 is made around the neutron generator and a small bullet of U-235 is removed. The bullet is placed at the one end of a long tube with explosives behind it, while the sphere is placed at the other end. A barometric-pressure sensor determines the appropriate altitude for detonation and triggers the following sequence of events:
The explosives fire and propel the bullet down the barrel.
The bullet strikes the sphere and generator, initiating the fission reaction.
The fission reaction begins.
The bomb explodes.

E

arly in the Manhattan Project, the secret U.S. program to develop the atomic bomb, scientists working on the project recognized that compressing the subcritical masses together into a sphere by implosion might be a good way to make a supercritical mass. There were several problems with this idea, particularly how to control and direct the shock wave uniformly across the sphere. But the Manhattan Project team solved the problems. The implosion device consisted of a sphere of uranium-235 (tamper) and a plutonium-239 core surrounded by high explosives. When the bomb was detonated, this is what happened:
The explosives fired, creating a shock wave.
The shock wave compressed the core.
The fission reaction began.
The bomb exploded.

http://people.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-bomb5.htm

Lord Zentei · Post by **Lord Zentei** » 2006-02-22 11:33am

Funnily enough, I was contemplating shaped charge nukes myself for a fic. <grumbles> might have to rethink that then...

AMX · Post by **AMX** » 2006-02-22 11:58am

Three possibilities:

1) Don't use one, use a whole cluster in an appropriate formation, to approximate a single (really big) shaped charge.

2) Bomb-pumped laser. Not really a shaped charge, but close.

3) Orion drive charge; uses beryllium oxide to absorb x-rays, converting them into heat, which is used to turn tungsten into plasma, thus providing more kinetic energy. (IIUC)

dragon · Post by **dragon** » 2006-02-22 12:07pm

Lord Zentei wrote:Funnily enough, I was contemplating shaped charge nukes myself for a fic. <grumbles> might have to rethink that then...

Nah go ahead in Insurrection by David Weber they have shaped M/AM weapons. They use a high density enrgy field to funnel the explosive. The field only last picoseconds but its enough to redirect most of the explosive. Or you can have the back of the weapon a super dense metal that would monentary with stand the inital force.

Azazal · Post by **Azazal** » 2006-02-22 01:31pm

I remember reading on some sort theoretical shaped nukes some time ago on the old SJG OGRE mailing list, here was I was able to find off hand

Nuke for an orion engine It's sort of a shaped charged, how well it would work though, not sure. From what I recall the idea was to have a relatively low yield explosion, that could be somewhat channeled by a blast shield, before the explosion destroyed the shield.

Augh too long ago to remember clearly, sorry