03-04-2003, 02:38 PM
Hi,
The amount of radioactivity and the area over which it is spread depend a lot on how the bomb is made and where the bomb is detonated. Air burst is a lot "cleaner" than ground burst. An enhanced bomb is "cleaner" than a straight fission job of the same yield. Even the material the casing and control components are made from have an effect. So the radiological effects can be anything from a few painful days to a long life.
And he was not an "officer". "SFC Red Thomas, Armor Master Gunner U.S. Army (Ret)". SFC stands for sergeant first class, IIRC. Now, as one who spent three years in the army as an enlisted man, I do not subscribe to the notion that all officers are smart (most aren't) and all enlisted men are ignorant (many aren't). However in a highly technical and classified field like CBR warfare, it is unlikely that a non-commissioned officer would have much if any advanced information. In other words, he probably has no more, and possibly less, knowledge than does a well read civilian.
--Pete
The amount of radioactivity and the area over which it is spread depend a lot on how the bomb is made and where the bomb is detonated. Air burst is a lot "cleaner" than ground burst. An enhanced bomb is "cleaner" than a straight fission job of the same yield. Even the material the casing and control components are made from have an effect. So the radiological effects can be anything from a few painful days to a long life.
And he was not an "officer". "SFC Red Thomas, Armor Master Gunner U.S. Army (Ret)". SFC stands for sergeant first class, IIRC. Now, as one who spent three years in the army as an enlisted man, I do not subscribe to the notion that all officers are smart (most aren't) and all enlisted men are ignorant (many aren't). However in a highly technical and classified field like CBR warfare, it is unlikely that a non-commissioned officer would have much if any advanced information. In other words, he probably has no more, and possibly less, knowledge than does a well read civilian.
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?