Castle Union (nonfiction): Difference between revisions
(Created page with "Castle Union was the code name given to one of the tests in the Operation Castle series of United States nuclear tests. It was the first test of the TX-14 thermonuclear weapon...") |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
Castle Union was the code name given to one of the tests in the Operation Castle series of United States nuclear tests. It was the first test of the TX-14 thermonuclear weapon (initially the "emergency capability" EC-14), one of the first deployed U.S. thermonuclear bombs. | [[File:Castle_Union.jpg|thumb|Nuclear weapon test Union (yield 6.9 Mt) on Bikini Atoll. The test was part of the Operation Castle.]]'''Castle Union''' was the code name given to one of the tests in the Operation Castle series of United States nuclear tests. It was the first test of the TX-14 thermonuclear weapon (initially the "emergency capability" EC-14), one of the first deployed U.S. thermonuclear bombs. | ||
An "Alarm Clock" device is a "dry" fusion bomb, using lithium deuteride fuel for the fusion stage of a "staged" fusion bomb, unlike the cryogenic liquid deuterium of the first-generation Ivy Mike fusion device. | An "Alarm Clock" device is a "dry" fusion bomb, using lithium deuteride fuel for the fusion stage of a "staged" fusion bomb, unlike the cryogenic liquid deuterium of the first-generation Ivy Mike fusion device. | ||
| Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
As the highly enriched lithium was both expensive and scarce at the time, it limited the number of these weapons that could be produced. The "Runt" design tested in Castle Romeo and Castle Yankee was preferred for deployment. | As the highly enriched lithium was both expensive and scarce at the time, it limited the number of these weapons that could be produced. The "Runt" design tested in Castle Romeo and Castle Yankee was preferred for deployment. | ||
== In the News == | |||
<gallery> | |||
</gallery> | |||
== Fiction cross-reference == | |||
* [[Crimes against physical constants]] | |||
* [[Gnomon algorithm]] | |||
* [[Gnomon Chronicles]] | |||
== Nonfiction cross-reference == | |||
External links: | |||
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Union Castle Union] @ Wikipedia | |||
Attribution: | |||
[[Category:Nonfiction (nonfiction)]] | |||
Latest revision as of 05:16, 26 April 2018
Castle Union was the code name given to one of the tests in the Operation Castle series of United States nuclear tests. It was the first test of the TX-14 thermonuclear weapon (initially the "emergency capability" EC-14), one of the first deployed U.S. thermonuclear bombs.
An "Alarm Clock" device is a "dry" fusion bomb, using lithium deuteride fuel for the fusion stage of a "staged" fusion bomb, unlike the cryogenic liquid deuterium of the first-generation Ivy Mike fusion device.
It differed from the Castle Romeo "Runt" device, tested shortly before, in using highly enriched lithium (approximately 95% lithium-6; natural lithium is a mixture of lithium-6 and lithium-7 isotopes). The "Runt" device had 7.5% lithium-6 in the fusion fuel.
The test took place on April 26, 1954 at Bikini atoll of the Marshall Islands, on a barge moored in the lagoon, off Yurochi island. The yield of 6.9 megatons of TNT was somewhat higher than the predicted 3-4 megatons. Although the barge had been moored in over 160 feet (49 m) of water, the test left a crater 3,000 feet (910 m) in diameter and 90 feet (27 m) deep in the bottom of the lagoon.
Like the Ivy Mike, Castle Bravo, and Castle Romeo tests, a large percentage of the yield was produced by fast fission of the natural uranium tamper, which contributed to the extensive fallout caused by these tests.
As the highly enriched lithium was both expensive and scarce at the time, it limited the number of these weapons that could be produced. The "Runt" design tested in Castle Romeo and Castle Yankee was preferred for deployment.
In the News
Fiction cross-reference
Nonfiction cross-reference
External links:
- Castle Union @ Wikipedia
Attribution: