dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaA comparison of delayed radiobiological effects of depleted-uranium munitions versus fourth-generation nuclear weapons
| Authors | Andre Gsponer, Jean-Pierre Hurni, Bruno Vitale |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0210071 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0210071 |
Abstract
It is shown that the radiological burden due to the battlefield use of circa 400 tons of depleted-uranium munitions in Iraq (and of about 40 tons in Yugoslavia) is comparable to that arising from the hypothetical battle-field use of more than 600 kt (respectively 60 kt) of high-explosive equivalent pure-fusion fourth-generation nuclear weapons. Despite the limited knowledge openly available on existing and future nuclear weapons, there is sufficient published information on their physical principles and radiological effects to make such a comparison. In fact, it is shown that this comparison can be made with very simple and convincing arguments so that the main technical conclusions of the paper are undisputable -- although it would be worthwhile to supplement the hand calculations presented in the paper by more detailed computer simulations in order to consolidate the conclusions and refute any possible objections.
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"abstract": "It is shown that the radiological burden due to the battlefield use of circa\n400 tons of depleted-uranium munitions in Iraq (and of about 40 tons in\nYugoslavia) is comparable to that arising from the hypothetical battle-field\nuse of more than 600 kt (respectively 60 kt) of high-explosive equivalent\npure-fusion fourth-generation nuclear weapons.\n Despite the limited knowledge openly available on existing and future nuclear\nweapons, there is sufficient published information on their physical principles\nand radiological effects to make such a comparison. In fact, it is shown that\nthis comparison can be made with very simple and convincing arguments so that\nthe main technical conclusions of the paper are undisputable -- although it\nwould be worthwhile to supplement the hand calculations presented in the paper\nby more detailed computer simulations in order to consolidate the conclusions\nand refute any possible objections.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0210071",
"authors": [
"Andre Gsponer",
"Jean-Pierre Hurni",
"Bruno Vitale"
],
"categories": [
"physics.med-ph"
],
"title": "A comparison of delayed radiobiological effects of depleted-uranium munitions versus fourth-generation nuclear weapons",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0210071"
},
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