Re:Did American Missile Defense Fail in Saudi Arabia?
by nabla9 on Tuesday December 05, 2017 @05:39AM
(#15850983)
Light atoms are used to slow down fast neutrons. Thermal neutron absorbers (large neutron capture cross section) like boron, lithium or cadmium is used for shielding.
Li6H is perfect for shielding warhead. Li6H (Lithium-6 hydride) contains hydrogen to slow down neutrons and lithium to absorb them. It has hightest hydrogen content of any hydride, high melting point and can be casted.
The shielding takes some space and the warhead yield is smaller than without shielding. The goal is not to completely block neutron flux but to reduce it to the level where exploding countermeasure must be very close.
Li6H is perfect for shielding warhead. Li6H (Lithium-6 hydride) contains hydrogen to slow down neutrons and lithium to absorb them. It has hightest hydrogen content of any hydride, high melting point and can be casted.
The shielding takes some space and the warhead yield is smaller than without shielding. The goal is not to completely block neutron flux but to reduce it to the level where exploding countermeasure must be very close.