The tests were proposed by Nicholas Christofilos in an unpublished paper of what was then the Livermore branch of the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory ( now Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory ) as a means to verify the Christofilos effect , which argued that high-altitude nuclear detonations would create a radiation belt in the extreme upper regions of the Earth 's atmosphere . Such belts would be similar in effect to the Van Allen radiation belts . " Such radiation belts were viewed as having possible tactical use in war , including degradation of radio and radar transmissions , damage or destruction of the arming and fuzing mechanisms of ICBM warheads , and endangering the crews of orbiting space vehicles that might enter the belt . " Prior to Argus , Hardtack Teak had shown disruption of radio communications from a nuclear blast , though this was not due to the creation of radiation belts
Hardtack Teak
Hardtack Teak
Operation Argus