Modern Technologies and Conflicts
22.11. 2017
JAKUB DRMOLA
Nuclear and chemical weapons





Basic fission



Types
-gun-type
-first, less efficient and simpler design
-assembly of 2 subcritical parts
-Little Boy (Nagasaki, 6.8. 1945)

-implosion
-newer, more efficient design
-concentional explosion compresses the core
-Trinity test (Nevada, 16.7. 1945)
-Fat Man (Hirošima, 9.8. 1945)

Nuclear fusion
-boosted fission
-boosting yield of fission bombs by adding helium isotopes (1940s)

-thermonuclear/hydrogen bombs
-hydrogen core compressed via fission bomb
-developed in 50s
-Castle Bravo, 1954, 15 MT
-Tsar Bomb, 1961, 50 MT
-roughly 1000x stronger than WW2 bombs
-commonly used today on ballistic missiles

Other types
-Enhanced Radiation Weapon
-optimized for neutron radiation
-minimal physical destruction
-“kills people, leaves buildings standing”
-can be used on tactical or ABM missiles

-Electromagnetic Pulse
-optimized for gamma and x-ray radiation
-overloads and destroys electronics
-non-nuclear variant also exist

Radiological weapons
-so called “dirty bomb”
-spreading radiation through conventional explosion
-tested as Denial-of-Access weapon
-possibly attractive for terrorists
-sounds scary but quite impractical
-radiation too weak, temporary and can be cleaned up
-primary threat is panic, not direct deaths


 https://youtu.be/WD1BRE-DBsA?t=43m11s
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-2006, Litviněnko assassination

Depleted uranium
-by-product from uranium enrichment
-50% heavier than lead, similar to tungsten
-but cheaper and pyrophoric
-used in munitions, armoud, shielding, counterweights…
-lasting controversy regarding its effect on health and environment
-
-no nuclear reaction taking place!
-minimal level of radioactivity (comparable to banana)
-but can be quite toxic (similar to other heave metals)

History
-nucleus and radioactivity discovered before WW1 (Rutherford ,Currie)
-first principles developed  in 30s (Leo Szilard, Otto Hahn)
-1942 project Manhattan started
-UK lacked the industrial capacity
-Germany focused on rocketry
-1945 end of WW2
-USSR (1949), UK (1952), France (1960), China (1964), Israel (196?), India (1974), Pakistan (1998),
DPRK (2016?)

Current arsenals
-permanent members of UN SC
-plus India, Pakistan and Israel
-ongoing efforts by DPRK and Iran
-issue of post-soviet countries
-former programs in Libya, Iraq, Syria, South Africa, Brazil, Taiwan, Sout Korea, Yugoslavia, ...

-https://www.ctbto.org/nuclear-testing/
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_proliferation#/media/File:Nuclear_weapon_programs_worldwide_
oct2006.png





Terrorism
-ongoing speculations
-esp. after collapse of USSR and 9/11
-regular news about efforts of terrorist groups to procure nuclear weapons or dirty bombs, so far
without confirmation or results
-building a nuclear weapon from scratch impossible
-might steal it, buy it or attack a nuclear facility
-building dirty bomb is trivial, could be used to spread fear


Related image


Types of chemical weapons I.
-Nerve gas
-block nerve signals > convulsions, paralysis of muscles > asphyxiation or heart failure
-sarin, soman, tabun, VX
-Poison gas
-absorbed into blood by inhalation or consumption > block oxygen absorption
-cyanide, arsenic, oxygen monoxide
-Choking agents
-stings and destroys cells in lungs and membranes > lungs flood with liquid > asphyxiation
-phosgene, chlorine

Types of chemical weapons II.
-Blistering agents
-up to 24 hours after contact, chemical burns for days, extremely painful, necrotic
-yperite (mustard gas), lewisite
-Psychoactive
-temporary loss of consciousness, confusion, hallucinations
-LSD-25, BZ, Kolokol-1
-Incapacitating
-cause vomiting, burning in eyes, coughing, tears
-chloracetophenon, CS, CR, adamsite





History I.
-use of smoke since time immemorial
-da Vinci’s proposal for chemical grenade
-boom of chemistry since 19th century
-largest use in history during First Wolrd War
-1914 – tear gas, first use by France, unsuccessful
-1915 - chlorine, phosgene
-1917 - yperite (mustard gas)
-over 1 million soldiers impacted, 100 thousand killed (primarily by phosgene)
-all major powers used chemical weapons
-nerve gases discovered in Germanny in 1930s





History II.
-very limited combat use during WW2
-Germany did not know nobody else discovered nerve gas, worried about escalation
-used a lot by Japan
-planned use for defense of Great Britain
-Zyklon B in extermination camps
-“gas race” during Cold War
-used in smaller conflicts in Middle East, Africa, etc.

Technology used
-methods of dispersion
-wind, artillery, air bombs, spraying, binary munitions
-methods of protection
-detection by sight and smells, damp cloth over face
-later gas masks, continually improved, full suits
-neutralizing chemical agents, antidotes, electronic detection

Strategic and tactical aspect
-highly dependent on weather
-temperature, wind and humidity can limit the effect or even hit friendly forces
-contamination
-quite cheap and simple to produce
-very bad for PR
-not very effective when the armies are protected
-can escalate quickly

Terrorism
-chemical weapons are relatively easily procurable
-sometimes used to enhance conventional attacks
-not effective
-Aum Shinrikyo
-1990-5: 10 attempts for chemical attack
-(4x sarin, 4x VX, 1x phosgene and cyanide)
-2x successful, 14 killed, 4000 injured
-Moscow theater siege, kolokol-1 used by police, 2002
-attacks on chlorine tanks in Iraq, 2007
-use in Syria since 2012, multiple sides
-(chlorine, sarin, yperite, tear gas)
-assassination of Kim Jong Nam, 13/2/2017, VX