Tag: radiation belts
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operation argus
Operation Argus may seem an oddity, but an article at Air & Space Smithsonian, “Oldies & Oddities: Homebuilt Radiation Belt”, makes clear it still has implications today. Nicholas Christofilos, a greek elevator engineer turned nuclear physicist, often referred to as “the Crazy Greek”, theorized how a shield could be artificially made by nuclear explosions. “He suggested that…
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starfish prime
Starfish Prime was a series of high altitude nuclear tests in the Pacific Ocean, conducted by military from Johnston Island. On July 9, 1962, a hydrogen bomb lifted 250 miles into space atop a Thor rocket detonated, causing an unprecedented auroral light display. In Honolulu, several hundred miles away, “when the bomb burst, people told…