Nuclear shaped charge

Nuclear shaped charges refers to nuclear weapons that focus the energy of their explosion into certain directions, as opposed to a spherical explosion. Edward Teller referred to such concepts as third-generation weapons, the first generation being the atom bomb and the second the H-bomb.

The basic concept has been raised on several occasions, with the first known references being part of the Project Orion nuclear-powered spacecraft project in the 1960s. This used beryllium oxide to convert the X-rays released by a small bomb into infrared light, which explosively vaporized a tamper material, normally tungsten, causing it to carry away much of the bomb's energy as kinetic energy in the form of tungsten plasma. The same concept was explored as a weapon in the Casaba Howitzer proposals.

The ideas were explored by Los Alamos National Laboratory as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative.

References

• Chung, Winchell (17 June 2016). "The Nuclear Spear: Casaba Howitzer". Atomic Rockets.