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The formation of trinitite-like surrogate nuclear explosion debris (SNED) and extreme thermal fractionation of SRM-612 glass induced by high power CW CO2 laser irradiation

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Abstract

We describe a new approach to the bench top production of surrogate nuclear explosion debris by employing high power continuous wave CO2 laser irradiation. High surface temperatures >2,500 K can be rapidly attained, allowing virtually any combination of materials to be fused into a glassy matrix that can display high levels of elemental fractionation. Examples of the laser fused glasses will be presented and compared to trinitite nuclear explosion glass along with the elemental fractionation effects that were induced in the NIST glass standard SRM-612 by this method.

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Acknowledgments

My thanks to Dr. John McCloy at Washington State University, Pullman for bringing to our attention the CO2 laser Fulgurite article [16] that sparked this line of research. This work was funded by the Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC05-75RLO1830. The views, opinions and findings contained within this paper are those of the authors and should not be construed as an official position, policy or decision of the DOE unless designated by other documentation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PO Box 999, Richland, WA, 99352, USA

    Martin Liezers, April J. Carman & Gregory C. Eiden

  2. U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Ave. SW, Washington, DC, 20375, USA

    Albert J. Fahey

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  1. Martin Liezers
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  2. Albert J. Fahey
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  3. April J. Carman
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  4. Gregory C. Eiden
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Correspondence to Martin Liezers.

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Liezers, M., Fahey, A.J., Carman, A.J. et al. The formation of trinitite-like surrogate nuclear explosion debris (SNED) and extreme thermal fractionation of SRM-612 glass induced by high power CW CO2 laser irradiation. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 304, 705–715 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-014-3895-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-014-3895-2

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