SMALL BOY SHOT FALLOUT
RESEARCH PROGRAM
CARL F. MILLER and JAMES D. SARTOR
Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, California
ABSTRACT
In this paper the general outline of a field test program is presented
along with the application of the outline to the design of the experimental program for the Small Boy shot. Also, a preliminary analysis
and correlation of the data obtained on two of the projects is presented
in a discussion and an evaluation of the intensity —activity ratio and the
intensity—area integral per unit fission yield (i.e., the ratio of roentgens per hour at 1 hr per kiloton per square mile) for the fallout from
the Small Boy shot.
INTRODUCTION
Over the past decade many significant advances indevelopment and
field testing of nuclear explosives have been made. In the field testing
of nuclear weapons, explosion products, called fallout, received increasing attention as the testing proceeded. One of the major reasons
for the increased attention to fallout was that, during this same period
of time, better understanding and recognition of the radiological
hazards to biological species from exposures to nuclear radiation
were accomplished. In addition, studies of the application of nuclear
explosives in possible future warfare showed that exposure of human
beings and other living species to the nuclear radiations associated
with fallout could result in many fatalities.
Field experimental programs designed to obtain information on
fallout became increasingly complex as time progressed. The evolve-
ment of experimental procedures in the field tended to reflect, at the
time,
both the
understanding
of the radiological hazards and the
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