4/29/2004: Baker detonates underwater

[wolf]

Originally Posted by BigV

Even the tiny thumbnails in the gallery here are powerful. I am simultaneously filled with revulsion and unable to tear away my gaze. What have we wrought?

http://www.michaellight.net/100suns/

Well that's just cool. I ordered it. I'll let you guys know what it's like.

My father was in the Air Force in the 1950s. He was based in Hawaii and was responsible for testing of cloud samples to determine when the Soviets were doing testing, as well as, I suppose, to see what the distribution patterns of fallout for our own nuclear blasts were.

[Roosta]

I saw a programme on telly a few years back that said that there is about 25 briefcase sized nuclear weapons missing and in circulation in the world. Frightening stuff....

[tw]

Originally Posted by Roosta

I saw a programme on telly a few years back that said that there is about 25 briefcase sized nuclear weapons missing and in circulation in the world. Frightening stuff....

Not so frightening. Such weapons are easily detected by routine scanning equipment. Second, people assume they are activated simply by pushing a button. You have PC problems. Those are trivial compared to triggering a suitcase bomb. And third, those weapons degrade quickly to uselessness if not maintained. Technology and materials not found in any dentist's office or janitorial supply house.

What made so many surface to air missiles useless to terrorists? Batteries went dead.

Worry little about the nukes. Worry far more about biological and conventional weapons. History should make that obvious. Destructive weapons using the simplest technology and not stuff hyped in movies should worry you more.

That is the genius of the 11 September attacks. Even Tom Clancy was predicting such an attack. And yet they walked right in, even with fake NJ Drivers Licenses, to attack the WTC, Pentagon, and a field outside Johnstown. Where were all the expensive, hyped, high tech weapons? How did they slaughter so many school children in (forgot the name) last September? Guns hidden underneath a floor. There is the greater danger in part because we hype the wrong threat.

[onetrack]

Granted, there are simplistic terrorist means to inflict damage .. but the terrorists desire is for a ''high impact" hit on America .. could you imagine the rejoicing in Muslim terrorist centres if they managed to pull off a nuclear hit in the heartland of America??

Give me a list of weaponry that has not been captured and used against it's makers and builders .. and the list wouldn't run to three headings ..

I find the following gentlemans site, quite fascinating, too ..

http://www.mmmfiles.com/archive/pantex.htm

Particularly, the part about an estimated US$300 Billion just to clean up the radioactive waste generated from plutonium production alone ..

The construction and operation of nuclear devices seems to be quite within the realm of terrorists .. who can buy items needed to repair PC's .. and nuclear weapons .. off many of the willing shadowy worldwide sellers who can supply them with all the technology they need ..

[wolf]

Originally Posted by tw

Not so frightening. Such weapons are easily detected by routine scanning equipment.

Somehow I am not comforted by tw's reassurances.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Smoke detectors for the home contain a minute particle of radioactive material.
Every once in a while, the local “Trash-to-Steam” plant (think incinerator heating water) has an alert. One of their radioactive material scanners will find a smoke detector in an incoming trash truck and sound the alarm.

This buoys my hopes that the proper authorities have the same or even better detectors to find any radioactive material big enough to hurt anyone.
Of course Homeland Security would handle that information expediently and in the proper manner to thwart any evil intent.

[Elspode]

Having had my curiosity aroused by what appears to be an excellent book (if you get the mad notion to scan the whole tome, Wolf, count me in for a .pdf file copy of it...), I spent some time looking for info on space-based nuclear testing. It seems there's a video out on this topic, and my local library system has it, so I'm going to be reserving that very soon, along with some of the other videos by the same group of documentarians.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Human shields or waiting for the pigs to cook?

[wolf]

I have a poster leftover from college of an atomic test. I never did know which one. This book may help me identify it. I really need to get that framed and hung.

The poster leftover from college of the rabbit that looks best under blacklight I will probably leave in the tube for now.

[chrisinhouston]

[Bitman]

Funny, I have tons of responses to this stuff, none of it very insightful. Oh well.

• W-54 suitcase at the 100suns site: http://www.michaellight.net/100suns/images_08.html
• EMP effects can be huge. According to Wikipedia, "An air burst at the right altitude could produce continent-wide effects." But I've heard EMP guns are almost impossible, due to the excessively high energy they'd require.
• Supposedly, President Shrub is (or was) looking to develop nuclear bunker busters. Haven't heard that rumor in a while now.
• Biggest test I've heard of is a Soviet 50 megaton bomb. If the number doesn't look like much, go look at yields on the 100suns site, then read this again.
• Piccy: http://www.zvis.com/nuclear/dimg.php3?tzarbo1,tzar
• Just occurred to me: If it weren't for the radiation, we'd probably all be alot more personally familiar with nukes.