Per this story what exactly are “daisy cutters”?
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia_china/story.jsp?story=104863
“The scale of the air strikes increased dramatically, the number of aircraft often rising to more than a hundred, compared to 40 in the first day, and the Taliban front line being subjected to carpet bombing, and the dropping of “daisy cutters”, the most potent conventional weapons in the US arsenal.”
Thanks Geobabe. Using your link and the bomb id I found this info.
"The BLU-82 is the size of a small car but much heavier - it weighs 6,800kg (15,000 pounds). It is described as the world’s heaviest conventional bomb, and has been used to bomb positions behind Taliban front lines, according to American defence officials.
The Associated Press news agency said reports from Afghanistan indicated the bombs were used on frontline Taliban posts. A Pentagon briefing confirmed that two of the bombs had been used.
Similar to a fuel-air bomb, the BLU-82 - also called “big blue” - combines a watery mixture or “slurry” of ammonium nitrate and aluminium powder with air creating a mist which, when ignited, explodes with a blast that incinerates everything within between 300 and 600 yards.
The blast produces overpressure of 1,000 pounds per square inch, close to that of a tactical nuclear weapon. It can be felt miles away.
The bombs, which cost $27,000 (£19,000) each, were used to clear jungle in Vietnam for helicopter landing grounds. They were also used in the Gulf war, initially to test their ability to clear minefields."
etc etc
Yeah, it’s a pretty nasty weapon.
When it was used during Desert Storm, a British forward observation post observed it, and radioed that,
“The blokes just nuked Iraq!”
…at least that’s what I heard reported at the time.
The Guardian link apparently doen’t work.
Weekly Standard has the same article.
Sorry the board’s auto url function broke the link
Huge ‘daisy cutter’ weapons target frontline troops
Ooo… a flash animation slideshow from the Guardian. Thanks samclem!
Here’s a stop action high speed video of a FAE detonation at China Lake. And here is an articleon just how nasty these weapons are. It’s difficult for me to think of anyone more deserving than the Taliban to use these bombs upon. Having their lungs sucked out of their nostrils just begins to make up for how they treat women. Let them laugh at our unwillingness to engage them on the ground. When you have bombs like these, you are the one who laughs last and loudest.
The ones you cite are very effective weapons but are somewhat different from the BLU-92 which, according to the article linked by samclem, damages via overpressure (ie it crushes) vs pure incineration per the FA devices.
"It is no surprise that a weapon of such ferocity would grab the attention of the media. Many reports, though, have mistakenly described the Daisy Cutter as a fuel-air bomb. “That’s absolutely incorrect,” explains Robert Hewson, editor of Jane’s Air Launched Weapons. “This bomb does not ignite oxygen, turning the air into fire. The damage comes from the overpressure.” When asked what, then, happens to a person standing in its way, Hewson remarks, “He’d simply be flattened. Crushed. There’d be severe damage to one’s internal organs.”
So we’re dropping fertilizer bombs the size of VW Beetles on them. How … McVeigh-esque.
Incidentally, these things were used in Vietnam to clear the way for helicopters. Instant helipads, courtesy of high school chem. class on a really big budget. Hence the name.
I’m surprised we haven’t hooked one of these up to a cruise missile yet. Of course, the missile would resemble a Saturn V, but think of the psychological possibilities. One minute you have a whole network of caves above you, the next you have a … concrete helipad!
FAE’s also produce massive overpressure, albeit not on the scale of the “Big Blu”.
The "Daisey Cutter comes from the fact that the BLU-82 is typically dropped with a three-foot fuse extender, causing it to go off above ground and not cause craters, but instead, cutting-off trees like so many daisies.
I thought it meant that it cut a daisy pattern into the forest. You know, a round circle for the helipad with star-like arms radiating from it.
Rysdad has it right. Sorry, Tranquilis. The blast pattern on the ground looks like a big daisy pattern. If they were naming it for what it cuts off at the ground, then they’d likely have called it a “Tree Trimmer” or some such.
FWIW, my understanding is that the overpressure at and near ground zero can exceed that of a nuclear weapon.
Cite?
I find this hard to believe, even if you are talking about a fission weapon. While the overpressure of these BLU suckers is indeed devastating, I don’t see how it could compare to the overpressure produced by the several hundred thousand Kelvin plasma produced by a fission weapon, and certainly not the 50-100 million Kelvin plasma produced by a thermonuclear weapon. Truly they are “stars on Earth.”
Source:
So, you are saying that the blast does not radiate out circular (or spherical) pattern? How does this happen?
The overpressure of typical FAE is around 400 PSi. The BLU-82 has a claimed overpressure of 1000 PSI.
http://www.ichkeria.org/a/2000/9/com1609-en132823.html
“This overpressure, or blast wave, is the primary casualty-producing force. In several dozen microseconds, the pressure at the center of the explosion can reach 30 kilograms per square centimeter (427 pounds per square inch) – normal atmospheric pressure at sea level is 14.7 pounds per square inch with a temperature between 2,500-3,000 degrees Centigrade [4,532-5,432 degrees Fahrenheit]. This is 1.5 to 2 times greater than the overpressure caused by conventional explosives. Personnel under the cloud are literally crushed to death. Outside the cloud area, the blast wave travels at some 3,000 meters per second [9843 feet per second]1. The resultant vacuum pulls in loose objects to fill the void.”
http://lists.dumpshock.com/pipermail/shadowrn/Week-of-Mon-19990920/020657.html
“BLU-82 bomb: a 10,000 to 15,000 pound fuel-air-explosive. It is a near nuclear explosive that covers an area about 1000 feet long with blast overpressures of 200 - 1000 psi. Humans can tolerate up to 40 psi. It has been used since the Vietnam War to blast out landing pads from the jungle.
Those near ground zero are obliterated while those on the outskirts of the blast suffer numerous burns and internal injuries.”
I can’t find an explicit statement as to nuclear overpressure near ground zero. Nuclear weapons vary so much that overpressure is apparently dependent on a number of variables. This site gives data to calculate yield variables for the “do the math” inclined.