alle@ihuxb.UUCP (Allen England) (02/10/84)
This is in reference to the question of "if the Russians nuked our missiles they would effectively destroy themselves by causing the Nuclear Winter to be triggered?" My understanding of the Nuclear Winter idea is that the dust thrown up by nuclear explosions is not the real culprit which triggers the nuclear winter. The latest studies are based on what would happen if nuclear weapons are used on cities. The fires which would result would cause soot to be released into the atmosphere. It is soot which is the main source of concern. Soot has the "nice" property of absorbing almost all incident light which would result in massive cooling of the earth. It's not blowing up missiles that is the problem, but blowing up the cities! Allen England at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Naperville, IL ihnp4!ihuxb!alle