Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ubc-cs.UUCP Path: utzoo!utcsri!ubc-vision!ubc-ean!ubc-cs!robinson From: robinson@ubc-cs.UUCP (Jim Robinson) Newsgroups: can.politics Subject: Re: Re: Canadian participation in Star Wars. Message-ID: <1129@ubc-cs.UUCP> Date: Sun, 30-Jun-85 18:19:06 EDT Article-I.D.: ubc-cs.1129 Posted: Sun Jun 30 18:19:06 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 1-Jul-85 04:42:29 EDT References: <893@mnetor.UUCP> <5642@utzoo.UUCP> <896@mnetor.UUCP> Reply-To: robinson@ubc-cs.UUCP (Jim Robinson) Organization: UBC Department of Computer Science, Vancouver, B.C., Canada Lines: 30 Summary: In article <719@utcs.UUCP> clarke@utcs.UUCP (Jim Clarke) writes: >In article <1126@ubc-cs.UUCP> robinson@ubc-cs.UUCP (Jim Robinson) writes: >>I don't see why a few well placed *neutron* bombs wouldn't solve the >>problem. No more people, but lots of usable real estate. (So much for >>resisting with conventional weapons) >> >>J.B. Robinson > >It is a popular fallacy that a neutron bomb doesn't leave a big hole in >the ground. The balance between radiation damage and mechanical damage >is different in a neutron bomb from the balance in a "conventional" (?!) >nuclear bomb (and the total yield is probably less than average, since the >neutron bomb is intended to be a "tactical" weapon), but it still makes >a VERY big bang. > >There was an article on this in the Scientific American a few years back, >when the neutron bomb was a big issue. I wasn't under the impression that the neutron bomb didn't leave holes in the ground, however, I was under the impression that the radiation emitted by said bomb had an *extremely* short half-life. Thus making it feasible to nuke a region or country and then repopulate that area in a very short space of time (hence my comment concerning usable real estate) when the radiation had died down. Anyone out there know just how long it would take for the radiation to diminish to an acceptable level? Also, is there any reason that the neutron bomb could not be used as a "strategic" weapon? J.B. Robinson