47 Oe
Taken from THE OBSERVER, English newspaper, Sunday, Fg
RADIATION BELT MAY MONITOR A-TESTS
4
By a Scientific Correspondent
The newly-discovered belt of intense radiation su rrounding
the earth in space, first detected by the American Exp lorer
satellites, may provide a new method of detecting high -altitude
nuclear explosions.
At one time experts feared that high-altitude teg ts would
be impossible to detect from the sround.
Dr. P. J. Keg loge, of
che University of Minnesota, writing in NATURE, sugges tS that
e high-altitude nuclear blast would afrect tne atomic particles
vrepped in the radiation pelt =n several dirtrerent way S, a@lil of
them Pairly easily detectable with existing methods.
Tne effects ne anticipates range from auroral digs pleys vo
a sudden escape of radiation from the belt into the he
uy per evmoswhere, 5 through what might almost be described as a Ho ll e torn
vne pelt by the Porce of tne explosion.
aa
om
.
foe
ee
—_
r. helloge's theory is partly based on observati ons made
after two quite @irferent types of high-altitude expla sion, one
using ean atom bomb and the other using ordinary chemic ai exploSive.
They agree feiriyvy closely with views held by sca Wentistvs
a
Tie
wno have deen worltins on somewhat similar lines at Bri stol
Uni
versivy.
Dr. Kellogs and the Sristol team both Teel tne ne nt Suter
snould be a scientifically controlled hign-altitude nu clear
explosion vo test the a
Dr. Lelicns
racy
of their essunmtions.
s
.
oO
ny.
rice
Oa
aescribes this as "quite crucial” to better understand Ene
radiation belt.
rapa 4
et ee ee
et ee
Jn the same issue of NATURE, Dr. T. Gold, of Harv
versity, puts forward a new theory to account Lor the
of the radiation belt (which is still not properly ace
a
ZO”
.
The particles whirling around in the radiation ba
steadily out of it -- so the belt must be continuously
up from somewhere.
Professor Gold thinks toat the sun
source of fresh perticles.
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