C70:arms-d (08/12/82)
>From HGA@MIT-MC Wed Aug 11 22:07:47 1982
Arms-Discussion Digest Volume 0 : Issue 157
Today's Topics:
FTL in Sci-Fi
Firestorms
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Date: 10 August 1982 15:34-EDT
From: Robert Elton Maas <REM at MIT-MC>
Subject: FTL in Sci-Fi
If Faster-Than-Light travel is possible, then FTL war is too. I hope
Einstein was right and Sci-Fi wrong. I'd hate to see the whole
universe in one simultaneous coordinated holocaust.
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Date: 11 Aug 1982 1054-PDT
From: Paul Dietz <DIETZ at USC-ECL>
Subject: Firestorms
I previously stated that there was no fire storm at Hiroshima.
Further reading revealed that this is false. There was a firestorm at
Hiroshima. It covered 4.4 square miles. It was fully involved 20
minutes after the detonation. Peak winds occurred about 3-4 hours
after the blast. The peak winds were about 30-40 mph. Note that
these winds turn upward near the edge of the storm; inside firestorms
the winds are turbulent and somewhat weaker. Many people in the
firestorm survived by taking shelter in buildings or basements.
I also learned that more than two cities in Germany had suffered
firestorms (in addition to Hamburg and Dresden). Leipzig also
experienced a firestorm. Any others?
Contrary to popular impression, it is not necessarily fatal to stay in
the storm. Moderate thicknesses of earth or stone will shield against
flame for hours. Oxygen starvation is also not a problem. The
biggest danger is carbon monoxide seepage.
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End of Arms-D Digest
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