Concealment of Underground Explosions

Albert L. Latter

ResearchPublished 1960

Results of the Cowboy experiments on the decoupling of underground nuclear explosions. These experiments show that the principle of decoupling by means of a large hole is correct. The decoupling factor of 300 is still considered the best estimate for a hole in salt relative to a tamped shot in Nevada tuff. The most surprising result of Cowboy is that decoupling is not an all-or-none effect. If the elastic limit of the medium is exceeded, the decoupling factor is reduced, but only gradually. As a result it appears possible to explode a 20 KT device in a cavity no bigger than some which already exist, without producing a signal that can be detected by the Geneva system.

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1960
  • Pages: 8
  • Document Number: RM-2562-AEC

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Chicago Manual of Style

Latter, Albert L., Concealment of Underground Explosions. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1960. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_memoranda/RM2562.html.
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