The 'Christofilos Effect' & the 'Nuclear Shield'
High-Altitude Nuclear Detonations are a complex & unique phenomenon which were first explored & studied in 1958, including, their potential military implications.
After crossing the threshold in the early 1950s; from nuclear to the megaton-range thermonuclear weapons, within a decade of the onset of the Atomic Age; the focus of the nuclear weapon designers & physicists suddenly switched towards space in the late 1950s, spurred by the launch of Sputnik by Soviet Union in October 1957. The reason behind the sudden interest in space was its potential utilization and implications for military applications amid the backdrop of the Cold War in the duopolistic global rivalry of the Super Powers.
The U.S. & global scientific community was already abuzz with the discovery of Van Allen Radiation Belt around Earth by astrophysicist James Van Allen in 1958. However, it also spurred the imagination of a relatively much lesser known Greek physicist, Nicholas Christofilos, who proposed in a classified research paper in 1957 about the hypothesis and possibility of creating artificial radiation belts, akin to Van Allen Belts, in the atmosphere over specifically chosen locations via nuclear detonations at high-altitudes.
The underlying phenomenon at the core behind Van Allen Belts and Artificial Radiation Belts was the same; high energy electrons captured by the geomagnetic field at high altitudes in the atmosphere. The only difference between the two is that in case of Van Allen Belts these electrons are part of the solar storms and flares reaching Earth while in case of artificial radiation belts, these electrons are produced by fissile materials inside the nuclear weapons.
The potential military implications of the novel concept intrigued the imagination of U.S. defense planners, especially, the part about the creation of artificial radiation belts with potential implications for defense against incoming nuclear warheads, as a sort of nuclear shield as these radiation belts, hypothetically, could damage the electronics inside the warheads and their delivery systems. A series of nuclear tests, planned to assess and test the hypothesis, were, thus, quickly planned & scheduled in 1958. Codenamed as Operation Argus; the three high-altitude detonations under Op Argus were conducted from July to September 1958, supported by around 4,500 military personnel and 9 U.S. Navy ships.
Operation Argus duly validated that Christofilos was, indeed, correct as nuclear detonations did lead to the creation of radiation belts. However, these belts were transient and, thus, did not have the desired capability to defend against nuclear weapons. However, they did have the capability to be used in the defensive as well as offensive role against satellites and electronic equipment, including, on-ground enemy radars and military communication systems & infrastructure effectively.
The phenomenon was, thus, duly named as the 'Christofilos Effect' in his honor and the experiments under Operation Argus are also sometimes referred to as one of the greatest experiments in human history.
For a deeper dig on Nicholas Christofilos and Operation Argus:- https://archive.navalsubleague.org/2006/cold-war-physicist-nicholas-christofilos
The above is an excerpt from the forthcoming book: Atoms of Doom: Seconds to Midnight - I releasing on August 06, 2024. The book has an entire Chapter, titled Space-Age Nukes, dedicated to the same and other implications of nuclear weapons in space, including, Nuclear EMP and its deadly effects on the existing electronic & power infrastructure on Earth.
The book is available for pre-order on Amazon at:- https://www.amazon.com/Atoms-Doom-Confrontations-Disasters-Apocalypses-ebook/dp/B0D8WVH38M
Other bookstores:-https://books2read.com/u/bzAZJZ
