Particle-beam weapon
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A particle-beam weapon uses a high-energy beam of atomic or
The concept of particle-beam weapons comes from sound scientific principles and experiments. One process is to simply overheat a target until it is no longer operational. However, after decades of research and development, particle-beam weapons remain at the research stage and it remains to be seen if or when they will be deployed as practical, high-performance military weapons.
Beam generation
Charged particle beams naturally diverge because of mutual repulsion, and are deflected by the earth’s magnetic field. Neutral beams can remain better focused, and are not subject to deflection by the earth’s magnetic field. Neutral particle beams are ionized, accelerated while ionized, then neutralized before leaving the device. Neutral beams also reduce spacecraft charging.
The beam emitted may contain 1+
History
The U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative developed a neutral particle beam to be used as a weapon or a detector of nuclear weapons in outer space.[5] Neutral beam accelerator technology was developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. A prototype NPB linear accelerator was launched aboard a suborbital sounding rocket in July 1989 as part of the Beam Experiments Aboard Rocket (BEAR) project.[6] It reached a maximum altitude of over 200 km, and successfully operated in space for 4 minutes before returning to earth intact. In 2006, the BEAR accelerator was transferred from Los Alamos to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.[7]
See also
References
- ^ P. G. O'Shea; T. A. Butler; et al. "The Bear Accelerator" (PDF). 13th IEEE Particle Accelerator Conference, Chicago, IL, USA, 1989.
- ^ Roberds, Richard M (July–August 1984), "Introducing the Particle-Beam Weapon", Air University Review, USA: Air Force, archived from the original on 2012-04-17, retrieved 2006-05-17.
- ^ Neutral Particle Beam (NPB), Federation of American Scientists, 2005.
- ^ NEUTRAL PARTICLE BEAM POPUP APPLICATIONS (PDF), Los Alamos National Laboratory, 1991.
- ^ P. G. O'Shea; T. A. Butler; M. T. Lynch; K. F. McKenna; et al. "A Linear Accelerator in Space – The Beam Experiment Aboard Rocket" (PDF). Proceedings of the Linear Accelerator Conference 1990, los Alamos National Laboratory.
- ^ "'Star Wars' Beam Weapon Has Successful Space Test". Los Angeles Times. July 18, 1989.
- ^ "Neutral Particle Beam Accelerator, Beam Experiment Aboard Rocket". Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Retrieved 15 May 2021.