The physic and employment of neutron weapons

Well known physical relationships make it possible to estimate the military effects of low yield nuclear weapons. Since weapons effects tables already exist for fission explosives, it is possible to calculate approximately the impact of thermonuclear and enhanced radiation weapons (ERWs) on a tactical situation. The principal physical problem is the calculation of the ratio of neutron production in an ERW explosion to that in a fission explosion.

Our calculation indicate that the ERW is less effective against tanks than is widely believed. The collateral damage for an ERW with a reasonable ratio of fission to fusion yield is shown to extend to a distance of about 75% of that of a fission weapon with the same energy release.