From: utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!C70:arms-d Newsgroups: fa.arms-d Title: Arms-Discussion Digest V0 #157 Article-I.D.: ucb.1748 Posted: Wed Aug 11 22:16:35 1982 Received: Sat Aug 14 04:04:59 1982 >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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 10 August 1982 15:34-EDT From: Robert Elton MaasSubject: 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. ------------------------------ Date: 11 Aug 1982 1054-PDT From: Paul Dietz 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. ------------------------------ End of Arms-D Digest ********************