The neutron bomb is a small thermonuclear device that kills enemy troops with radiation while causing minimal damage to the surrounding area. It was invented by Samuel T. Cohen in the 1970s and is also known as an Enhanced Radiation Bomb. The bomb emits energized free neutrons that can penetrate several feet of earth and any form of vehicle armor. The bomb was created to eliminate enemy troops with minimal collateral damage to civilians or infrastructure. The neutron bomb is largely obsolete due to the accuracy of modern smart bombs. The radiation from the neutron bomb soaks into surrounding materials, making exposed tanks low-level nuclear waste. Samuel Cohen expressed shame over the bomb’s creation.
A neutron bomb is a small thermonuclear device designed to kill enemy armored troops with radiation while causing minimal damage to the surrounding area. It is named after the source of the lethal radiation: energized free neutrons. These radioactive shells can penetrate several feet of earth and virtually any form of vehicle armor. This is in contrast to conventional nuclear weapons which emit a lot of heat and light, which are relatively easily blocked compared to radiation.
Neutron bombs are also known as Enhanced Radiation Bombs (ERBs). The bomb was invented by physicist Samuel T. Cohen in the early 1970s. The intent of the bomb was to create a “nicer looking nuclear bomb” that would do its job of eliminating enemy troops with minimal collateral damage to civilians or infrastructure. The Pope was so excited by the neutron bomb that in 1979 he gave Cohen a peace medal. Another “ethical” aspect of the bomb is the low amount of lasting radioactivity it leaves behind.
Among other thermonuclear weapons, the blueprints for neutron bombs were allegedly stolen by a spy working for the People’s Republic of China in the mid-1990s. The reason for the creation of the neutron bomb comes from the days when missiles and artillery shells were not that accurate, meaning collateral damage from conventional warfare was likely. Nowadays, we have smart bombs and precise systems that hit their targets with an error factor of less than a few meters. This makes the neutron bomb largely obsolete.
A neutron bomb with an explosive force equal to one kiloton of TNT will kill any human being at distances of a few kilometers or miles. At distances of less than 1 km (0.62 miles), the radiation is so strong that it immediately incapacitates the victim. This is about ten times the threshold at which half of exposed people die. Those farthest from the epicenter are also doomed to perish, but the process can drag on for days.
The radiation from the neutron bomb also soaks into surrounding materials such as the alloys found in armor. Exposed tanks are to be classified as low-level nuclear waste and disposed of accordingly. Samuel Cohen has since expressed shame over the bomb’s creation. Let’s hope it’s never used.
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