Loren Pechtel

Enough mass stops neutrons.

Consider: The stuff put out by bombs is nothing compared to what goes on in a high energy particle accelerator. They don't use any elaborate shield on them, merely a bunch of dirt.

You'll stop neutrons with less mass if you use light elements or neturon-philic materials but anything will do the job if you use enough of it. Consider: You're trying stop ping pong balls. You'll stop them best with a bunch of ping pong balls, but set up some bowling balls and you'll find they stop, they just bounce around more before coming to rest.

Loren Pechtel

What little mention I've seen of red mercury seems very crackpot.

A neutron bomb is basically a small h-bomb with no outer jacket to extract the energy from the neutrons released by the process.

paradigm9

neutron bombs are just small yield nuclear bombs with no neutron reflectors. the primary "enhanced radiation" is neutrons. they are more penetrating than gamma, the idea being that tanks and such wont protect people. the neutrons can also leave certain alloys with residual radiation gained from the neutron bombardment.

as neutrons penetrate various substances they also can give off xrays, much like bramstrulung radiation from beta particles passing through plexiglass.

if you want to see real horrific weapons look up salted bombs. cobalt bombs were the ones that gained notoriety, but tantalum and gold were also researched. basically "dial-a-yield" whatever you salt the reflector with can leave HUGE amounts of fallout for days, weeks, months or years.

Starshark

Still, a neutron bomb would be a powerful motivator...

Derec

Those numbers are based on what level of attenuation?

Certainly any amount of shielding helps to reduce the intensity of radiation. Also note that even in vacuum radiation intensity drops with square of distance. So being far away from the blast to survive the pressure and heat waves will give you a certain head start.

If the blast is directly overhead. If it is somewhere else the gammas have to travel diagonally. Just diving 5 ft or so could bring you 100s of feet of shielding.

Derec

Mr. Aardvark

Sounds like China has greater imperialist fantasies on its mind.

Trout

Maybe. I heard a rumour that they have been buying subs over the last 10 years or so. No one expands a navy significantly without intending to extend their influence. Look at how effective the American Pacific fleet is.

As for non-con weaponry, China is being pushed into a new arms race due in a large part to the missile shield project

Amen-Moses

Since the vast majority of the radiation is "clean" gamma radiation. The Neutron part is just a natty name just like "Atom Bomb" or "Hydrogen bomb". Or did you think that "Atom" bombs throw out "Atom" radiation and "Hydrogen" bombs thow out "Hydrogen" radiation?

In reality all three work by chucking out neutrons and a shit load of gamma radiation, the only difference being the proportion of other residual (i.e longer half life) radioactive particles and the amount of energy "wasted" in heat and/or blast.

Personally I don't buy the "clean" bit, although the initial gamma radiation won't leave any lasting problems the neutrons will, everything they hit will potentially become radioactive.

Amen-Moses

Amen-Moses

Thick cardboard will stop neutrons! Neutrons are big buggers (like Beta and Alpha particles) and short lived (unlike Beta and alpha particles).

Amen-Moses

Amen-Moses

Just rough and ready figures we were given in the military, we were told this so that we would be able to ascertain how best to protect equipment from the gamma ray blast.

Neutrons don't travel very far, the idea is that directly below a neutron bomb everything will be bathed in neutrons. The problem is that the gamma yield is also massively enhanced and that travels huge distances (and penetrates everything except the densest materials).

Amen-Moses