Laurence Doering wrote:
On Wed, 24 Dec 2003 20:48:36 -0500, JJ wrote:

1. We know that terror operatives are hiding in the mountains between
Afghanistan and Pakistan

2. It is possible that Bin Laden himself is in this area

3. We are running around like crazy raising alert levels, canx flights etc.

How about this warning from our US Government:

If any terror attack occurs on US soil that results in loss of American
life or damage to American infrastructure from Bin Laden and friends, we
will launch one minuteman nuclear missile into the mountains of
Afghanistan and Pakistan and obliterate 200 square miles for each attack
or loss of life in America.


Just one small problem. As of November, 2002, the maximum explosive
yield of the nuclear weapons carried on a Minuteman missile was a total
of just over a megaton (3 W-78 warheads with a yield of 375 kilotons
each.)

It would be pretty much impossible to "obliterate 200 square miles" with the
weapons carried on one Minuteman. Let's assume you want at least 5 psi
overpressure (the minimum needed to cause heavy damage to an American-style
wood frame house.) The blast from a 375 kiloton airburst at optimum altitude
(assuming flat terrain in the target area) will give you 5 psi at a maximum
range of about 3.2 miles, covering an area of only about 32 square miles.
Multiply by three, and you're still more than 100 square miles short of your
goal.

Where do you get your 5 psi figure from? Sounds way high to me. A
30x40' house with even the short side getting hit with a 5 psi
differential would sustain a force of 172,800 lbs (30'x8'x144"/sq.
ftx5psi) or 86.4 tons. I'd be surprised most stud frame houses would
withstand this, and this is ignoring the load on the roof.


Matt