9.

Modern conventional weapons of mass destruction

Powerful, up-to-date weapons are necessary for every country, so they are
constantly being improved. There are various types of modern firearms,
automobile and armored vehicles, aircraft, and helicopters, as well as warships and
submarines.
In none of the fields of science and technology of mankind has such great results
been achieved as in the science of killing.
It is believed that among the possible new types of weapons soon, the most real
danger is represented by radiation, radio frequency, infrasound, radiological,
geophysical and information weapons.
Incendiary weapons can be portable or mechanized, and they can be used with
different weapon platforms. They include such diverse weapons as flamethrowers,
incendiary grenades, landmines and fougasses air-dropped unitary ‘firebombs’,
incendiary cluster munitions, incendiary rockets, incendiary artillery or mortar
shells, incendiary naval ordnance, as well as improvised incendiary devices, for
example, ‘Molotov cocktails’. Over 180 models of incendiary weapons currently
exist.
Types of incendiary agents used in incendiary weapons include:
Thermite, a mixture of powdered aluminium metal and ferric oxide, is
a pyrotechnic incendiary. Thermite can produce temperatures of over 2000 degrees
Celsius and can scatter small drops of molten metal, which may prolong and
extend the incendiary effect, and can cause multiple deep burns.

Napalm is perhaps the most notorious oil-based incendiary substance. Napalm was
originally a mixture of napthenic and palmitic acids, developed at Harvard
University in 1942-43. Napalm compositions had a higher viscosity than earlier
oil-based incendiary substances. It could be spread further and burned more slowly
but at a higher temperature. This increased the likelihood of secondary fires.
Napalm is not self-igniting, and is hence often combined with phosphorous.
Napalm was widely used in World War II in flamethrowers and air-dropped
bombs. Subsequently, napalm was used as a generic term to refer to incendiary
compositions developed later, although these actually contain different chemical
components. So-called Incendergel, Napalm-B or NP2 for instance, consist of a
mixture of benzene, gasoline and polystyrene. These compositions burned longer,
at somewhat higher temperature, and could be spread over wider areas. Such
incendiary compositions tend to stick even to vertical surfaces and are almost
impossible to remove.
White phosphorous is probably the most important pyrophoric incendiary. It
ignites spontaneously in contact with atmospheric oxygen and continues to burn
while exposed to oxygen until it is depleted or oxygen supply is cut off. The
chemical reaction creates heat of around 815 degrees Celsius, as well as light and
thick white smoke. This makes white phosphorous useful for creating
smokescreens, illuminating areas, marking and signalling, providing tracers for
ammunition, as well as for detonating mines, fuel supplies and ammunition caches.
White phosphorous is not an effective incendiary substance for use against
structures that are difficult to ignite, but it has been used against persons and to
ignite oil-based incendiaries
Geophysical weapons are considered to be a term that denotes a combination of
various means and allows for various military purposes to use natural force by
artificially induced changes in physical properties and processes occurring in
different layers of the earth . There is a method of active influence on geophysical
processes, which provides for the creation of artificial earthquakes in earthquake-
prone zones, powerful waves such as tsunamis, hurricanes, mountain collapses,
snow avalanches, landslides and other destructive physical processes.
It is assumed that with the help of geophysical weapons, it will be possible to
change the weather or climate (see Climate weapons), create large-scale artificial
droughts, floods, earthquakes, storms, hurricanes, "windows" in the ozone layer
(see Ozone weapons), heavy fogs and radio-tight aerosol clouds in the areas of
flights and landings of aircraft, heavy rains and powerful snow-hail charges in
certain areas, tsunami-type waves in coastal waters, etc.
The idea of geophysical weapons is to create a mechanism for artificially causing
and targeting certain areas of destructive natural disasters. Among such natural
disasters are called:
* earthquakes,
* atmospheric disasters (tornadoes, typhoons, tornadoes, rainstorms), as
creation of "ozone holes"
* impact on water resources (floods, tsunamis, storms, mudslides, snow
avalanches).
* environmental weapons (biosphere weapons)

The first mention of attempts to purposefully influence the forces of nature is

associated with the risky experiments of physicist and inventor Nikola Tesla. There
is a version that it was experiments on wireless transmission of electricity that
caused the Tunguska explosion – one of the main unsolved mysteries of the XX
century.
Ray weapons are called various systems of devices, one of the types of beam
weapons is based on the use of lasers. The damaging effect of the laser is to heat
materials to high temperatures, which causes them to melt and even evaporate,
damages hypersensitive elements, blinds the organs of vision and causes dangerous
thermal burns to the skin. Genetic weapons are new forms of bacteria created by
genetic engineering methods. When introduced into someone else's body, these
bacteria secrete substances that change the structure of genes, causing the
appearance of new pathogenic bacteria. A great danger is the possibility of
recombination of DNA (TC-DNA), which allows a non-pathogenic bacterium to
become pathogenic by implanting in it the genetic information of pathogenicity or
the production of toxins.
(Первые упоминания о попытках целенаправленного воздействия на силы природы связаны с рискованными
экспериментами физика и изобретателя Николы Теслы. Есть версия, что именно эксперименты по беспроводной
передаче электричества стали причиной Тунгусского взрыва — одной из главных неразгаданных тайн XX века.
Лучевым оружием называют различные системы устройств, один из видов лучевого оружия основан на использовании
лазеров. Повреждающее действие лазера заключается в нагреве материалов до высоких температур, что вызывает их
плавление и даже испарение, повреждение сверхчувствительных элементов, ослепление органов зрения и вызывает
опасные термические ожоги кожи.
Генетическое оружие — это новые формы бактерий, созданные методами генной инженерии. При попадании в чужой
организм эти бактерии выделяют вещества, которые изменяют структуру генов, вызывая появление новых
болезнетворных бактерий. Большую опасность представляет возможность рекомбинации ДНК (ТК-ДНК), которая
позволяет непатогенной бактерии стать патогенной за счет имплантации в нее генетической информации патогенности
или продукции токсинов.

Infrasonic weapons are weapons of mass destruction based on the use of directed
radiation of powerful infrasonic vibrations with a frequency below 16 Hz. Such
vibrations affect the central nervous system and digestive organs of a person, cause
headaches, pain in the internal organs, and disrupt the rhythm of breathing.
Infrasound radiation also has a psychotropic effect on a person, causing a loss of
self-control, a sense of fear and panic. At certain levels of radiation power,
symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, and loss of consciousness appear.
Radio-frequency weapons are weapons of mass destruction, the action of which
is based on the use of electromagnetic radiation of ultra-high or extremely low
frequency. The ultrahigh frequency limits are frequencies from 300 to 30,000
megahertz. Extremely low frequencies include frequencies less than 100 hertz.

With the help of microwave weapons, it will be possible to disrupt the operation of
any electronic systems.
Radiological weapons are one of the possible types of weapons of mass
destruction, the action of which is based on the use of combat radioactive
substances.
Ionizing radiation, acting on the living tissues of the body, leads to their
destruction, causes radiation sickness or local damage to individual parts (organs) -
eyes, skin, etc. As a result of such exposure, after some time, and often
immediately, a person fails, loses his ability to work, needs medical care and long-
term treatment.
The main source of radioactive substances is waste generated during the operation
of nuclear reactors.

Information weapons are special means, technologies and methods that are used to
cause a negative impact on the political, economic, social, managerial, defense and
other important spheres of state activity.
Hydrosphere weapons are based on the use of hydrosphere energy for military
purposes. The hydrosphere is the discontinuous water envelope of the Earth,
located between the atmosphere and the solid crust of the earth (the lithosphere).

Biosphere weapons (ecological) are based on a catastrophic change in the

biosphere. The biosphere covers the necessary part of the atmosphere, the
hydrosphere, and the upper part of the lithosphere, which are interconnected by
complex biochemical cycles of migration of substances and energy. Currently,
there are chemical and biological agents, the use of which in large areas can
destroy vegetation cover, surface fertile soil, food supplies, etc.