Xref: utzoo sci.space.shuttle:2141 sci.space:8686 Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!apple!ems From: ems@Apple.COM (Mike Smith) Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle,sci.space Subject: Re: USSR and the Moon [was "Beyond the Energia crisis"] Keywords: Soviet/American shuttle comparison Message-ID: <286@internal.Apple.COM> Date: 6 Dec 88 00:44:33 GMT References: <880@cernvax.UUCP> <18263@ames.arc.nasa.gov> <18420@ames.arc.nasa.gov> <7827@ihlpl.ATT.COM> <79302@sun.uucp> <2735@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu> Organization: Circle C Shellfish Ranch, Shores-of-the-Pacific Ca Lines: 18 In article <2735@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu> doug@loihi.hig.hawaii.edu (Doug Myhre) writes: >In article <79302@sun.uucp>, fiddler%concertina@Sun.COM (Steve Hix) writes: >>Have you ever heard about a fuel/air bomb? Small charge speads out >>an aerosol of some liquid fuel, then an igniter sets off the cloud. >>Extremely potent for a given weight of bomb. >> >>If the rocket first suffered a small explosion that ruptured its tanks, >>then the resulting fuel/oxidizer cloud gets ignited...it might have >>the described effect. > >I would think that the initial explosion would ignite the fuel before >it's had a chance to spread out that fine. Take a 5 lb bag of flour (Bleached white or Whole Wheat...) Put it on top of a tuna fish can full of explosive. Place on floor of 12ft square shed. Light fuse and run away. The flour is dusbursed into the air, then the dust/air mix explodes violently. The fuel doesn't burn well until it is disbursed into the oxidizer, then it detonates.