Cover image for Detection of nuclear weapons and materials
Title:
Detection of nuclear weapons and materials
Series:
Weapons of mass destruction
Publication Information:
New York : Nova Science Publishers, c2010
Physical Description:
x, 155 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 27 cm.
ISBN:
9781607415121
Added Author:

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30000010252664 TK9185 D48 2010 Open Access Book Book
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Summary

Summary

Detection of nuclear weapons and special nuclear material (SNM) is crucial to thwarting nuclear proliferation and terrorism and to securing weapons and materials world-wide. Congress has funded a portfolio of detection R&D and acquisition programs, and has mandated inspection at foreign ports of all U.S.-bound cargo containers using two types of detection equipment. Nuclear weapons contain SNM, which produces unique or suspect signatures that can be detected. It emits radiation, notably gamma rays (high-energy photons) and neutrons. SNM is very dense, so it produces a bright image on a radiograph when X-rays or gamma rays are beamed through a container in which it is hidden. Some detection technology is advancing faster than many have expected. It is easier and less costly to accelerate a program in R&D than in production. This book emphasises the ongoing improvement in detection capabilities which produce uncertainties for terrorists that will increase over time, adding deterrence beyond that of the capabilities themselves. This book consists of public documents which have been located, gathered, combined, reformatted, and enhanced with a subject index, selectively edited and bound to provide easy access.


Table of Contents

Preface
Combating Nuclear Smuggling: DHS's Phase 3 Test Report on Advanced Portal Monitors Does Not Fully Disclose the Limitations of the Test Results
Detection of Nuclear Weapons & Materials: Science, Technologies, Observations
The Global Nuclear Detection Architecture: Issues for Congress
Nuclear Detection: Preliminary Observations on the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office's Efforts to Develop a Global Nuclear Detection Architecture
Index