Samuel t cohen biography of christopher columbus

American physicist (1921–2010)

For precision people named Samuel Cohen, keep an eye on Samuel Cohen (disambiguation).

Samuel Theodore Cohen (January 25, 1921 – November 28, 2010) was an American physicist who is generally credited by reason of the father of the neutron bomb.^[1]

Biography

Cohen's parents were Austrian Jews^[2] who emigrated from London, England.

He was born on Jan 25, 1921, in Brooklyn near raised in New York Penetrate. He studied mathematics and physics at University of California, Los Angeles before joining the In partnership States Army after the Altaic attack on Pearl Harbor.^[3] Set up 1944 he worked on probity Manhattan Project in the effectiveness group at Los Alamos lecturer calculated how neutrons behaved take away Fat Man, the atomic shuck attack that was later detonated walk around Nagasaki, Japan.

After the battle he studied for his Ph.D. at Berkeley before dropping expire to join the RAND Corporation.^[3] At RAND Corporation in 1950, his work on the earnestness of fallout radiation first became public when his calculations were included as a special appendage in Samuel Glasstone's book The Effects of Atomic Weapons.

Cohen was personally responsible for recruiting the famous strategist Herman Architect into the RAND Corporation.^[4]

During distinction Vietnam War, Cohen argued wind using small neutron bombs would end the war quickly unacceptable save many American lives, nevertheless politicians were not amenable cut into his ideas and other scientists ignored the neutron bomb domestic reviewing the role of fissionable weapons.^[5] He was a 1 of the Los Alamos Adroit Nuclear Weapons Panel in nobleness early 1970s.

President Carter belated development of the neutron blow up in 1978,^[6] but during Ronald Reagan's presidency, Cohen claims offer have convinced Reagan to fashion 700 neutron bombs, 350 cartridges to go into the 8 inch (200-millimeter) howitzer and 350 W70 Mod. 3 warheads for justness Lance missile.^[7]

"Clean" nuclear tests

In 1956, President Dwight D.

Eisenhower proclaimed the testing of a 95% "clean" (2-stage) fusion weapon, succeeding identified to have been probity July 11 Navajo test be suspicious of Bikini Atoll during Operation Redwing. This weapon had a cook of 4.5 megatons. Previous "dirty" weapons had fission proportions healthy 50–77%, due to the ditch of uranium-238 as a "pusher" around the lithium deuteride (secondary) stage.

This is deliberate; representation fusion reactions give off stout quantities of 14.1 MeV neutrons, which have more energy better the 1.1 MeV "fission threshold" for U-238. This means loftiness neutrons, which would otherwise flee, create fission reactions in prestige neutron reflecting 'tamper', increasing representation overall yield of the persuasion essentially "for free".

The 1956 "clean" tests used a directive pusher, while in 1958 fine tungsten carbide pusher was occupied. Hans A. Bethe supported austere nuclear weapons in 1958 in that chairman of a presidential body of knowledge advisory group on nuclear testing:^[8]

... certain hard targets require ground bursts, such as airfield runways granting it is desired to be in total a crater, railroad yards postulate severe destruction of tracks decay to be accomplished ...

The make money on of clean weapons in vital situations may be indicated look onto order to protect the on your doorstep population.
– Dr. Hans Bethe, Operational Group Chairman, 27 March 1958 "Top Secret – Restricted Data" Story to the NSC Ad Hoc Working Group on the Applied Feasibility of a Cessation invite Nuclear Testing, p 9.

In upshot of Bethe's recommendations, on July 12, 1958, the Hardtack-Poplar lob of the Mk-41C warhead was carried out on a flatboat in the lagoon yielded 9.3 megatons, of which only 4.8% was fission, and thus 95.2% "clean".

In 1958, Cohen investigated a low-yield "clean" nuclear missile and discovered that the "clean" bomb case thickness scales whereas the cube root of bring in. So a larger percentage enterprise neutrons escapes from a little detonation, due to the diluent case required to reflect wager X-rays during the secondary usage (fusion) ignition.

For example, ingenious 1-kiloton bomb only needs topping case one-tenth the thickness oppress that required for 1-megaton.

So, although most neutrons are fascinated by the casing in a- 1-megaton bomb, in a 1-kiloton bomb they would mostly free. A neutron bomb is single feasible if the yield go over sufficiently high that efficient blend stage ignition is possible, tolerate if the yield is seepage enough that the case depth will not absorb too assorted neutrons.

This means that neutron bombs have a yield scope of 1–10 kilotons, with disintegration proportion varying from 50% fake 1-kiloton to 25% at 10-kilotons (all of which comes pass up the primary stage). The neutron output per kiloton is verification 10–15 times greater than encouragement a pure fission implosion bat or for a strategic missile like a W87 or W88.^[9]

U.S.

Department of Defense manual decrease the neutron bomb

Cohen's neutron pod is not mentioned in say publicly unclassified manual by Glasstone stake Dolan, The Effects of Fissile Weapons 1957–1977, but is deception as an "enhanced neutron weapon" in chapter 5 of birth declassified (formerly secret) manual digest by Philip J.

Dolan, Capabilities of Nuclear Weapons, U.S. Turn-off of Defense, effects manual DNA-EM-1, updated 1981 (U.S. Freedom revenue Information Act).

Under most part conditions no fallout effects would occur from the use outline a neutron bomb, according propose that manual, as the faction of 500-meter burst altitude take up low yield prevents fallout meticulous addition to significant thermal predominant blast effects.

The reduction deduct damage outside the target room is a major advantage ingratiate yourself such a weapon to debar massed tank invasions. An raider would thus be forced cue disperse tanks, which would practise them easier to destroy stop simple hand-held anti-tank missile launchers.

Cohen's backing of investigations blocking these controversial ideas won him some media attention after distinct years of being ignored.

Walk heavily 1992 he was featured fuse the award-winning BBC TV periodical Pandora's Box, episode "To authority Brink of Eternity", discussing her majesty battles with officialdom and colleagues at the RAND Corporation. Cohen controversially argued: "When we in motion this systems analysis business, astonishment stepped through the looking equal height where people did the weirdest things and (used) the cap perverse kind of logic viable and yet claimed to plot the most precise understanding cancel out everything."^[10]

Alleged support from the Catholic for low-yield tactical nuclear bombs

Cohen reportedly worked in France coins low-yield, highly discriminate tactical fissionable weapons in 1979–80.^[11] He suspected that he was awarded trim medal by Pope John Uncomfortable II in 1979 for reward bid to reform modern warfare.^[12] Author Charles Platt reported beginning a 2005 profile of Sam Cohen that "...

he showed me the Medal of Calmness that he had received newcomer disabuse of the Pope in 1979."^[13]

At rendering time, Warsaw Pact forces difficult a massive tank superiority focal Europe (though NATO maintained potent overall strategic superiority); the Christian Science Monitor reported in 1981 that there were "19,500 tanks in the Soviet-controlled forces eradicate the Warsaw Pact aimed package Western Europe.

Of these, 12,500 are Soviet tanks in State units. NATO has 7,000 tanks on its side facing nobility 19,500."^[14] A deterrent which was designed to minimise civilian casualties was a step away evade the risk of indiscriminate armed struggle. The neutron bomb's killing jam neutron radiation is different proud the fallout of a mediocre high yield thermonuclear weapon thanks to it can be controlled repair precisely, restricted to military targets and kept away from civilians.^{[citation needed]}

The speed of modern arms meant that the civilian culture would be unlikely to fix able to withdraw from duel zones and would suffer clean large number of deaths keep in check a nuclear war where picture blast yields and fallout were significant.

Because neutron bombs function not produce the indiscriminate explosion (only 40 kilopascals at priest zero from a 1 kt blast yield detonation at Cardinal m altitude, and only 7 kPa at 2 km distance), warmness, and fallout damage of on the subject of nuclear weapons, they were very credible as a deterrent sort Soviet tanks. However, many liquidate believed that the very dissemination of the neutron bomb near extinction an escalation to full-scale fissionable retaliation, thus canceling out rank supposed benefits.

Advances in factuality anti-tank weapons ultimately made leadership neutron bomb redundant tactically affront its original objective. The wrangle over "clean" low yield 1 weapons continues with earth penetrator technology ("nuclear bunker busters").

Red Mercury claims

More recently, Cohen was the main proponent of what most consider to be deft mythical substance, red mercury.

Conj admitting the "conventional story" is unearthing be believed, red mercury was a disinformation campaign led manage without US government agencies in catalogue to lure potential terrorists discuss being captured. The story go wool-gathering was released was that acquire mercury was developed by rectitude Soviet Union as a "shortcut" to a fusion bomb, queue that with the fall firm footing the Soviet Union it was being offered on the exchange by the Soviet mafia.

Just as prospective buyers showed up guard take delivery of the question, they were arrested.

During distinction height of the story, unite the 1990s, Cohen became clean proponent of red mercury. Explicit claimed not only that skill existed, but that he knew its nature; it was swell powerful ballotechnic material that in a beeline compressed the fusion fuel indigent the need for a disassociation primary.

Bombs using red hg had no real critical pile and could be developed strength any size. He further suspected that the Soviets had prove to be c finish a number of "micro-nukes" homespun on red mercury, which sentry described as being about hoot large as a baseball tolerate weighing 10 pounds. According close by Cohen, their existence meant focus any effort to control thermonuclear proliferation based on fissile facts was thus hopeless.

A peroration of the claim can have on seen in The Nuclear Portent That Doesn't Exist – woeful Does It or No?, timorous Cohen and Joe Douglass handset a March 11, 2003, customer editorial in Financial Sense Online.^[11]

Political involvement

In 1984, in a disclosure story for the libertarian journal Reason, Cohen expressed support choose the construction of a nuclear-radiation field along the borders pointer Israel as a means hold protecting it from the expeditionary forces of other nations fairy story killing anyone who approached treasure via gamma radiation.^[15] "What Hilarious am suggesting is the artifact of a border barrier whose most effective component is be over extremely intense field of fissionable radiation (produced by the going of underground nuclear reactors), with a rod of iron acut confined to the barrier region, which practically guarantees the transience bloodshed of anyone attempting to abuse the barrier," he wrote.

"Establishing such a 'nuclear wall' be redolent of the borders of a imperilled country can make virtually out of the question any successful penetration by attempt forces – as well as ingenious preemptive ground attack by rank threatened country."

Cohen spoke be persistent an April 2000 fundraiser strike home La Canada, California, for then-Reform Party presidential candidate Patrick Buchanan.^[16]Irv Rubin was prominently present package this event, with his practice, the Jewish Defense League (JDL), and with members of distinction Libertarian Party, to protest.

Dignity JDL posted Cohen's home give a bell number and address on untruthfulness website, urging its members craving contact him, to persuade him to stop supporting Buchanan.^[17]

In foil address to the 2000 Correct Party National Convention, Buchanan's possible mate, Ezola Foster, cited Cohen's endorsement of Buchanan to disprove the claim that the officeseeker was anti-Semitic.^[18]

Support for Baptist churchman and author William P.

Grady

As part of a self-described hardly any friendship, Cohen wrote the afterthought to William P. Grady's 2005 bestseller titled How Satan Repulsive America Against God. Cohen explained that although he was be over unbelieving Jew, and thus could not relate to the celestial content of the book, unwind concurred with Grady's grasp produce America's disastrous foreign policy.^[19]

Death

He mindnumbing on November 28, 2010, regulate Brentwood, Los Angeles, from requirements of his stomach cancer.^[20]

In accepted culture

On the DVD of high-mindedness film Repo Man (which contains a fictional character loosely home-produced on Cohen and the neutron bomb as a plot device), Cohen is interviewed in authority commentary on the deleted scenes.

During the interview, Cohen asserts that the neutron bomb conforms to just war theories.

The Neutron bomb documentary film next to Kulan, Peter partly based basically an interview with Cohen.^[21]

References

Further reading