Causes of Electromagnetic Radiation From Detonation of Conventional Explosives: A Literature Survey

A literature survey was conducted on the presence of electromagnetic radiation from the detonation of conventional explosives. This survey is part of a technology effort to identify a useful battlefield signature that an individual soldier could detect. Sources reported observations of such signals in the range from as low as 0.5 Hz up to 2 GHz. Several of the investigators believed that the likeliest cause was charged particles created by ionization within the explosive region. The frequencies of the radiation appear related to the duration of shock waves and other hydrodynamic phenomena caused by the detonation. A calculation model presented in the literature provides estimates of frequency bands in this range and also of signal levels produced. The model is used to analyze some of the published results and provide some correlation between observations of several investigators.