Kinetic weapons
In modern times the use of nuclear weapons against the enemies of the United States (US) is an expensive proposition, both politically and socially. The weapons in the US nuclear stockpile have only been utilized twice in the history of war. Nuclear weapons indiscriminately terminate any living organism within the blast radius and leave radioactive contamination in the air, soil and water of the targeted area. Descendants of survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki still suffer from health problems that can be linked to the use of nuclear weapons. The technology currently available to the US allows its scientists and military strategists to produce a safer more effective alternative to nuclear weapons. Kinetic weapons, deployed from Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) and Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM), are the best replacement for the aging nuclear arsenal. The US maintains a considerable store of nuclear weapons, which includes approximately 10,600 warheads, 7,650 of those are classified as deployable. Approximately 1,600 are used in conjunction with ICBMs and 2,880 are utilized on SLBMs. (NRDC July/August 2003) This means that 58% of the deployable arsenal is assigned for use on ICBM/SLBM. That is
Hypervelocity impacts have four distinct phases. The first phase, the transient shock regime, begins at the moment of impact, when the leading edge of the projectile is brought to rest relative to the surface of the target. This generates very high pressure and temperatures and usually a brief impact flash. The second phase, steady state regime, lasts while the projectile is eroded away as it continues to penetrate into the target material. The third phase, cavitation regime, begins when the projectile is completely eroded away and the crater continues to expand under its own inertia. The fourth phase, the recovery regime, may reduce the crater size as the target material rebounds. (p. 308-309) Kinetic weapons can achieve almost all the desired effects of nuclear weapons without the draw backs. Tungsten warheads deployed from ICBM/SLBM re-enter the Earths atmosphere at roughly 11 Kilometers per second and deliver substantial destructive power, but only in a limited area. Kinetic weapons use only their own mass and very high velocity to cause damage. Hermann and Wilbeck illustrate how high speed impacts make this possible: During the research and d
Some topics in this essay:
Hermann Wilbeck,
Energy DOE,
NRDC July/August,
,
War Kinetic,
Missiles SLBM,
Hiroshima Nagasaki,
nuclear weapons,
kinetic weapons,
nuclear warheads,
Ballistic Missiles,
kinetic energy weapons,
civilian casualties,
collateral damage,
target material,
depleted uranium,
military budget,
regime begins,
energy weapons,
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Approximate Word count = 804
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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