Papers by Geoffrey Forden
Increasing nuclear stability with shared missile launch surveillance
Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft, 2007
Direct Photons in Hadronic Jets from Electron - Annhilation at 29 GEV
Postal,False Alarm, Nuclear Danger,
IEEE Spectrum, 2000
Budgetary and Technical Implications of the Administration's Plan for National Missile Defense
Increasing Nuclear Stability On January 16, 1961 a US fighter jet sat on the tarmac prepared to d... more Increasing Nuclear Stability On January 16, 1961 a US fighter jet sat on the tarmac prepared to defend the continental United States against a possible Soviet nuclear-armed bomber attack. As part of its arsenal, this jet carried a 1.7 kiloton nuclear tipped air-to-air missile as it waited on quick reaction alert. While many jets had sat on such quick reaction alerts before, this day was different. During a routine "engine run up," the underwing fuel tank accidentally dropped off; the resulting leaking fuel caught fire, badly scorching and blistering the nuclear warhead. This was far from the only accident involving on-alert nuclear weapons in the United States. A year before a long-range nuclear tipped cruise missile had been destroyed by fire while on alert. That time, the nuclear warhead was completely destroyed and the plutonium pit melted. Unfortunately the history of deployed US nuclear weapons has many other examples where a nuclear weapon might have detonated causing widespread destruction.
Geoffrey E. Forden - Preventive Attack and Weapons of Mass Destruction: A Comparative Historical Analysis (review) - Technology and Culture 49:1
Over the decades, India and the United States have had very little formal collaboration on nuclea... more Over the decades, India and the United States have had very little formal collaboration on nuclear issues. Partly this was because neither country needed collaboration to make progress in the nuclear field. But it was also due, in part, to the concerns both countries had about the other's intentions. Now that the U.S.-India Deal on nuclear collaboration has been signed and the Hyde Act passed in the United States, it is possible to recognize that both countries can benefit from such nuclear collaboration, especially if it starts with issues important to both countries that do not touch on strategic systems. Fortunately, there are many noncontroversial areas for collaboration. This study, funded by the U.S. State Department, has identified a number of areas in the prevention of and response to radiological incidents where such collaboration could take place.
Preventive Attack and Weapons of Mass Destruction: A Comparative Historical Analysis (review)
Technology and Culture, 2007
... provided by your local institution. [Access article in PDF]. Reviewed by. Geoffrey Forden. Pr... more ... provided by your local institution. [Access article in PDF]. Reviewed by. Geoffrey Forden. Preventive Attack and Weapons of Mass Destruction: A Comparative [End Page 250] Historical Analysis. By Lyle J. Goldstein. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2006. Pp. 280. $50. ...
The airborne laser
IEEE Spectrum, 1997
The Airborne Laser (ABL), a high-flying megawatt laser that pinpoints a ballistic missile lifting... more The Airborne Laser (ABL), a high-flying megawatt laser that pinpoints a ballistic missile lifting off hundreds of kilometers away, is an alternative to terminal defenses. The utility of the ABL in future regional conflicts, and the consequent policy options the United States can exercise, will be highly dependent on its range. The ABL's range in turn is determined by the accuracy with which the primary laser beam can be pointed, the power density it can deliver, and the structural design of the missile being attacked. This paper's examination of these issues, including all the estimates of the ABL's capabilities, are from the author's own analyses. The findings combine information found in the open literature with the basic physics and engineering involved in propagating intense laser beams through the atmosphere.
Direct photons in hardonic jets from E⁺ E⁻ annhilation at 29 Gev/# c by Geoffrey E. Forden
Reducing a Common Danger
Policy Analysis Paper, 2001
Six years ago, on January 25, 1995, the world lived through what some observers have called the m... more Six years ago, on January 25, 1995, the world lived through what some observers have called the most dangerous moments of the nuclear missile age. 1 Russian radars in Latvia and Lithuania detected a powerful rocket somewhere over the North Sea. The missile's ...
Intention to deceive: Iraq's misdirection of UN inspectors
JANES INTELLIGENCE REVIEW, 2004
A Shared Solution to the Iran Nuclear Stand-off
Financial Times, 2006
Charm lifetime measurements from TASSO
The Energy Citations Database (ECD) provides access to historical and current research (1948 to t... more The Energy Citations Database (ECD) provides access to historical and current research (1948 to the present) from the Department of Energy (DOE) and predecessor agencies.
Letter to the Honorable Tom Daschle on Further Options to Improve Russia's Access to Early Warning Information
Congressional Budget Office, 1998
A Preliminary analysis of the proposed USA-193 shoot-down
Background The target Satellite, known to the public as USA 193, was launched on 13 December 2006... more Background The target Satellite, known to the public as USA 193, was launched on 13 December 2006 on a Delta II (7920-10). Based on images taken by an amateur satellite observer, John Locker, the satellite is about 4 to 5 meters long. (See Figure 1 for an image of the satellite ...
Colonel Petrov's Good Judgment
IEEE spectrum, March, 2000
World War III? Now?
New York Times, 2000
Iran as a pioneer case for multilateral nuclear arrangements
… Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Accessed at …, 2006
Geoffrey Forden is a research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His r... more Geoffrey Forden is a research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His research includes the analysis of Russian and Chinese space systems as well as trying to understand how proliferators acquire the know-how and industrial infrastructure to produce weapons ...
After China's Test: Time For a Limited Ban on Anti-Satellite Weapons
Arms Control Today, 2007
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Papers by Geoffrey Forden