41–50 of 118 posts
What I'd like to know is why the recording equipment kept functioning -- isn't an EMP supposed to wipe out sensitive electronics? At least that's what the movies tell me...
> Some of you may have noticed the nuclear missile video says the explosion took place 10,000 feet above our group of soldiers. Apparently, the video is wrong. The Natural Resources Defense Council checked the numbers and says the explosion, part of Operation PLUMBBOB, was actually at 18,500 feet. Well, there's actually some pretty good proof here that the explosion was closer than that: I count the time between ligh…
Edit: Also, I watched the relevant portion of the video a couple more times, it seems like there's a possibility the audio is edited. The video cuts back and forth so it's clearly not a continuous shot, we're just trusting that they kept the timing the same and the audio the same, which seems like a bit much to hope for.
Its as believable as Indiana Jones hiding in a fridge and walking away unscathed.
Jeez -- come on. Prompt gamma flux would have destroyed their minds almost instantly even if their bodies had (improbably) survived incineration.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
From the article: The thing is, in that particular explosion, those guys would have been in a pretty safe position. The bomb itself was a small one (by nuclear standards — 2 kilotons) and it was way, way above their heads. They weren't in a zone to be too affected by the immediate radiation. The bomb was small enough and high enough that it wouldn't have sucked up dust to produce much fallout. The remaining cloud wou…
Exactly. That's the part I learned from.
http://www.nps.gov/goga/nike-missile-site.htm http://nikemissile.org/site_sf88.shtml
It's both wonderful and creepy. They've restored some beautiful old mechanical computers which are works of art in my eyes, but they also point out that the missiles were capable of carrying nuclear warheads, "but they neither confirm nor deny" whether the missiles at this facility ever had them installed. They _do_ however point out that not only were the missiles capable of taking down incoming aircraft heading towards San Francisco, but they were also pre-targetted at Sacramento… "Just in case" (I'm sure the guys who run the tours are pretty good at setting just the right tone with their stories, but they certainly left me with some interesting impressions).
I _highly_ recommend the tour of SF88 to anybody who's got an afternoon spare in San Francisco.
If you want more details on the "Downwinders", this is a pretty good piece: http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/utah_today/nuclear... I remember seeing some statistics when I lived in St. George 15 years ago (like high school dropouts) from 18 years after the tests. There was a huge increase in dropouts (and other negative indicators) as the downwinder babies reached adulthood.
Operation Plumbbob, troops in front of an exploding nuclear bomb (@2:50): http://youtu.be/7mV0Lt2PUjI?t=2m50s Tactical nuclear artillery being fired (@0:50): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46GBjlUOROY&feature=relat...
Terrifying.
It's amazing how these men have went on to live such long lives. As someone who has only cursory knowledge of atomic explosions and radiation damage, I was always under the impression that standing under an explosion such as this would almost guarantee a death during or shortly after. I suppose it's a lot like HIV. Unprotected sex with an HIV positive person doesn't * guarantee* disease contraction, which is the impr…
If you read up on the history of the era and combine that with a study of the real effects of nuclear bombs, it becomes evident that there was an uncoordinated, but nevertheless systematic, effort to grossly overstate the dangers of nuclear war. A game of "Telephone" [1] was played, where at each step the nukes got more dangerous. If nukes were as dangerous to the world as popular culture today imagines, there would…
http://www.visualnews.com/2011/05/06/visualized-nuclear-expl...
What I'd like to know is why the recording equipment kept functioning -- isn't an EMP supposed to wipe out sensitive electronics? At least that's what the movies tell me...
Vacuum tubes hold up better than today's little transistors, and there are ways of EMP-protecting things, like putting them in Faraday cages.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you read up on the history of the era and combine that with a study of the real effects of nuclear bombs, it becomes evident that there was an uncoordinated, but nevertheless systematic, effort to grossly overstate the dangers of nuclear war. A game of "Telephone" [1] was played, where at each step the nukes got more dangerous. If nukes were as dangerous to the world as popular culture today imagines, there would…
War Games like visualization http://www.visualnews.com/2011/05/06/visualized-nuclear-expl...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, it's nothing like HIV. HIV is a statistical thing: It's random chance if an infective particle travels. A nuclear bomb like this is deterministic. Based on the distance, altitude, size (power), and type (fission, fusion, specifics of the design - especially the tamper) of the bomb you can calculate exactly what and how dangerous the effects will be. The military was trying to show that they are able to make these…
Well, it's deterministic, until you get surprised: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucca_Flat#Baneberry and then perhaps you wish you had not shelved your "irrational" fear.