O
ooohyeah
Guest
anti-missle defense system in mid air? Does the atmosphere get contaminated by the nuclear device....?
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What happens if a nuculear missle is launched and is intercepted by an
B
bostonianinmo
Guest
More than likely the warhead would fall back to earth without opening. It would NOT detonate. Even if it was fractured and the high explosive initiator material was detonated, the worst that would happen would be some localized contamination from the fissile material.
There are 2 types of detonations, high order and low order. A high order detonation can ONLY result from the signals from the arming system. If the timing is off even by a micro-second, high order detonation will NOT occur. The arming system isn't activated until very shortly prior to the intended detonation time so no physical impact with anything, even high explosives, can result in an un-commanded high-order detonation. A low-order detonation is when the high explosive initiator material is improperly triggered, either by timing failure, tampering, or impact with external explosives. It would scatter the fissile material of course but that would be it. The distance that it would be scattered would depend upon its altitude and speed. A low-order detonation at ground level might scatter nuclear material a few city blocks. At speed and altitude it could cover hundreds or even thousands of miles but the concentration of the contamination would be spread over a wide area and would therefore be less dangerous to the environment.
The warheads themselves are pretty tough. Several were lost at sea back in the 1960s and there is no known release of radioactive materials.
There are 2 types of detonations, high order and low order. A high order detonation can ONLY result from the signals from the arming system. If the timing is off even by a micro-second, high order detonation will NOT occur. The arming system isn't activated until very shortly prior to the intended detonation time so no physical impact with anything, even high explosives, can result in an un-commanded high-order detonation. A low-order detonation is when the high explosive initiator material is improperly triggered, either by timing failure, tampering, or impact with external explosives. It would scatter the fissile material of course but that would be it. The distance that it would be scattered would depend upon its altitude and speed. A low-order detonation at ground level might scatter nuclear material a few city blocks. At speed and altitude it could cover hundreds or even thousands of miles but the concentration of the contamination would be spread over a wide area and would therefore be less dangerous to the environment.
The warheads themselves are pretty tough. Several were lost at sea back in the 1960s and there is no known release of radioactive materials.
C
CV59StormVet
Guest
It goes away. No more "Earth shattering KABOOM!"
M
max
Guest
Nuclear missiles ar programed to detonate at the proper time. If it were to be shot down it wont detonate into its full power. it would simply fall apart.But it still might cause radiation from the plutonium or uranium contamination.