200:
218:. This signature consists of a short and intense flash lasting around 1 millisecond, followed by a second much more prolonged and less intense emission of light taking a fraction of a second to several seconds to build up. This signature, with a double intensity maximum, is characteristic of atmospheric nuclear explosions and is the result of the Earth's atmosphere becoming opaque to visible light and transparent again as the explosion's shock wave travels through it.
139:
225:
As it expands, the shock wave cools off and becomes less opaque to the visible light produced by the inner fireball. The bhangmeter starts eventually to record an increase in visible light intensity. The expansion of the fireball leads to an increase of its surface area and consequently an increase
221:
The effect occurs because the surface of the early fireball is quickly overtaken by the expanding "case shock", the atmospheric shock wave composed of the ionised plasma of what was once the casing and other matter of the device. Although it emits a considerable amount of light itself, it is opaque
182:
226:
of the amount of visible light radiated off to space. The fireball continues to cool down so the amount of light eventually starts to decrease, causing the second peak observed by the bhangmeter. The time between the first and second peaks can be used to determine its
257:
which is smoked or drunk to induce intoxicating effects, the joke being that one would have to be on drugs to believe the bhangmeter detectors would work properly. This is in contrast to a "bangmeter" one might associate with detection of nuclear explosions.
187:
186:
183:
222:
and prevents the far brighter fireball from shining through. The net result recorded is a decrease of the light visible from outer space as the shock wave expands, producing the first peak recorded by the bhangmeter.
188:
854:
48:
185:
51:, in order to help detect, localise and analyse tactical nuclear detonations. They are often used alongside pressure and sound sensors in this role in addition to standard radiation sensors. Some
114:
371:
340:
408:
633:
339:
Burr, William; Cohen, Avner; De Geer, Lars-Erik; Gilinsky, Victor; Polakow-Suransky, Sasha; Sokolski, Henry; Weiss, Leonard; Wright, Christopher (September 22, 2019).
124:
on August 5, 1963, under the condition that each party could use its own technical means to monitor the ban on nuclear testing in the atmosphere or in outer space.
233:
The effect is unambiguous for explosions below about 30 kilometres (19 mi) altitude, but above this height a more ambiguous single pulse is produced.
184:
849:
646:
162:
sensors to detect the intense single pulse of X-rays produced by a nuclear explosion. The first satellites which incorporated bhangmeters were the
586:
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155:
215:
719:
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819:
74:
The bhangmeter was invented, and the first proof-of-concept device was built, in 1948 to measure the nuclear test detonations of
463:
412:
63:
613:
128:
409:"Operation Tumbler-Snapper, Nevada Proving Grounds, April–June 1952, Project 12.1 — Bhangmeter Mod II"
99:
44:
102:(1952). These tests lay the groundwork for a large deployment of nationwide North American bhangmeters with the
844:
839:
438:
199:
379:
An account of the return to
Nuclear Weapons testing by the United States after the test moratorium 1958-1961
272:
121:
95:
282:
759:
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sensors are designed to detect the distinctive bright double pulse of visible light that is emitted from
309:
730:
456:
Analysis of GPS Satellite
Allocation for The United States Nuclear Detonation Detection System (USNDS)
590:
192:
75:
776:
738:
683:
138:
715:
687:
559:
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36:
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163:
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The Vela satellites were the first space-based observation devices jointly developed by the
83:
322:
254:
110:
52:
249:, one of the scientists working on the project. The name is derived from the Hindi word "
478:
810:
796:
676:
344:
277:
151:
158:. The first generation of Vela satellites were not equipped with bhangmeters but with
833:
780:
267:
227:
143:
40:
28:
87:
500:
301:
246:
454:
381:. United States Department of Energy — NV 291. p. 67. Archived from
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early fireball evolution, showing the initial dimming of the first light pulse
132:
56:
24:
433:
634:
NUCLEAR EVENTS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES by the Borden institute..."case shock"
55:
and military facilities may also be equipped with such sensors alongside
203:
Graph of a nuclear fireball's surface temperature and diameter over time
208:
79:
647:"A Constellation of Satellites for Shared Missile Launch Surveillance"
772:
714:. Washington: Pergamon-Brassey's International Defense Publishers.
731:"Eyes in Space Sensors for treaty verification and basic research"
250:
198:
180:
159:
137:
712:
Arms control verification: the technologies that make it possible
127:
Bhangmeters were first installed, in 1961, aboard a modified US
502:
Blazing the trail: the early history of spacecraft and rocketry
614:"Science and Society Test IX: Technical Means of Verification"
242:
170:
86:. Bhangmeters became standard instruments used to observe US
32:
761:
The nuclear detonation detection system on the GPS satellites
710:
Tsipis, Kosta; Hafemeister, David W.; Janeway, Penny (1986).
78:. Prototype and production instruments were later built by
505:. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.
115:
First
Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
798:
Light Flash
Produced by an Atmospheric Nuclear Explosion
804:. Vol. LASL-79-84. Los Alamos National Laboratory.
94:
bhangmeter was developed to observe the detonations of
43:
of the nuclear weapon. They are also installed on some
855:
Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense
131:
aircraft monitoring the pre-announced Soviet test of
16:
Radiometer to detect atmospheric nuclear detonations
675:
82:, and the name "bhangmeter" was coined in 1950 by
654:MIT’s Program on Science, Technology, and Society
334:
332:
169:Since 1980, bhangmeters have been included on US
558:. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 239.
556:Nuclear weapon tests: prohibition or limitation?
812:Operation Ivy Final Report Joint Task Force 132
302:"Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society"
526:Richelson, Jeffrey (November–December 1998).
8:
758:Higbie, Paul R.; Blocker, Norman K. (1993).
552:"Means of nuclear test ban verification"
365:
363:
361:
545:
543:
293:
318:
307:
216:atmospheric nuclear weapons explosions
462:. Air Force Institute Of Technology.
142:Bhangmeter data collected during the
7:
825:from the original on March 11, 2014.
550:Goldblat, Jozef; Cox, David (1988).
466:from the original on April 8, 2013.
767:. Los Alamos National Laboratory.
528:"Verification: the ways and means"
66:by a team led by Hermann Hoerlin.
14:
795:Barasch, Guy E. (November 1979).
533:Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
370:Ogle, William E. (October 1985).
850:Electromagnetic radiation meters
729:Priedhorsky, William C. (2003).
62:The bhangmeter was developed at
674:Angelo, Josepha A. Jr. (2004).
253:", a locally grown variety of
245:which was bestowed upon it by
241:The name of the detector is a
64:Los Alamos National Laboratory
1:
682:. Greenwood Press. pp.
372:"Bhangmeter — Prologue"
49:NBC reconnaissance vehicles
871:
411:. EG&G. Archived from
645:Forden, Geoffrey (2006).
477:Johnston, Robert (2009).
434:"Limited Test Ban Treaty"
100:Operation Tumbler-Snapper
45:armored fighting vehicles
439:U.S. Department of State
164:Advanced Vela satellites
156:Atomic Energy Commission
499:Gruntman, Mike (2004).
453:Bell, Aaron J. (2002).
407:Grier, Herbert (1953).
345:Foreign Policy magazine
304:. Pergamon Press. 1985.
273:WC-135 Constant Phoenix
173:navigation satellites.
122:Partial Test Ban Treaty
96:Operation Buster-Jangle
57:seismic event detectors
479:"Multimegaton Weapons"
317:Cite journal requires
283:Electro-optical MASINT
204:
196:
147:
35:to detect atmospheric
341:"Blast From the Past"
202:
191:
141:
33:navigation satellites
612:Hafemeister, David.
76:Operation Sandstone
37:nuclear detonations
739:Los Alamos Science
678:Nuclear Technology
237:Origin of the name
205:
197:
148:
39:and determine the
193:Greenhouse George
189:
118:Nikita Khrushchev
104:Bomb Alarm System
23:is a non-imaging
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809:US Army (1952).
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84:Frederick Reines
47:, in particular
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840:Nuclear weapons
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111:John F. Kennedy
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53:nuclear bunkers
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587:"GPS timeline"
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319:|journal=
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278:Nuclear MASINT
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152:U.S. Air Force
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29:reconnaissance
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693:9781573563369
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593:on 2010-02-13
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388:on 2009-01-19
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268:Vela incident
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144:Vela incident
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109:US president
107:
106:(1961-1967).
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88:nuclear tests
85:
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60:
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54:
50:
46:
42:
38:
34:
30:
27:installed on
26:
22:
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797:
784:. Retrieved
760:
747:. Retrieved
743:
737:
711:
677:
669:
657:. Retrieved
653:
640:
629:
617:. Retrieved
607:
595:. Retrieved
591:the original
581:
569:. Retrieved
555:
531:
521:
501:
494:
482:. Retrieved
472:
455:
448:
437:
428:
417:. Retrieved
413:the original
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390:. Retrieved
383:the original
378:
348:. Retrieved
310:cite journal
296:
240:
232:
224:
220:
206:
168:
149:
126:
108:
73:
61:
20:
18:
392:18 December
247:Fred Reines
177:Description
120:signed the
98:(1951) and
834:Categories
419:2012-08-29
289:References
212:photodiode
133:Tsar Bomba
25:radiometer
21:bhangmeter
781:118978885
820:Archived
464:Archived
350:June 23,
262:See also
255:cannabis
154:and the
146:in 1979.
113:and the
80:EG&G
786:17 June
749:17 June
659:17 June
619:16 June
597:16 June
571:16 June
484:19 June
442:. 1963.
209:silicon
129:KC-135A
70:History
779:
718:
690:
686:–306.
562:
509:
92:Mod II
823:(PDF)
816:(PDF)
802:(PDF)
777:S2CID
765:(PDF)
734:(PDF)
650:(PDF)
536:: 54.
460:(PDF)
386:(PDF)
375:(PDF)
251:bhang
160:X-ray
90:. A
41:yield
788:2012
751:2012
716:ISBN
688:ISBN
661:2012
621:2012
599:2012
573:2012
560:ISBN
507:ISBN
486:2012
394:2008
352:2020
323:help
207:The
31:and
769:doi
684:304
243:pun
171:GPS
836::
818:.
775:.
744:28
742:.
736:.
652:.
554:.
542:^
530:.
436:.
377:.
360:^
343:.
331:^
314::
312:}}
308:{{
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325:)
321:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
