Gentleman John
Banded Mongoose
In the science fiction source I have read that uses TDX (James Blish's 'Cities in Flight' series), it is to do with the molecules in the explosive compound being 'polarised' so that the effects of the blast are maximised at right-angles to the local gravitic field. Whether it is something that is 'built-in' to the explosive when it is manufactured, or whether it is something that occurs at the time of detonation is not clear from the source material. The implication in the old JTAS Ship's Locker that it turns up in is that it occurs at the point of detonation.
If anybody is interested in a truly destructive implementation of TDX, a two-dimensional shaped nuclear charge was designed as a pulse unit for Freeman Dyson's Orion spacecraft. In this case, it is all to do with the shape of the 'filler' material in the pulse units.
If anybody is interested in a truly destructive implementation of TDX, a two-dimensional shaped nuclear charge was designed as a pulse unit for Freeman Dyson's Orion spacecraft. In this case, it is all to do with the shape of the 'filler' material in the pulse units.