Conference noted::sf

Does this really have anything to do with SF?  Oh.. it was in
_Asimov's_, and that's an SF publication.   Fair enough.

Perhaps this would be better discussed in DECWET::PHYSICS, though.

Dave C.
mod

    In my opinion, this is one of the best things about science fiction:
    you can take present-day absurdities and transform them (using the
    excuse of a future / other place) into a form where the absurdity is
    transparent.
    
    I'm recalling (usual caveats apply) that the U.S. has about 20,000
    warheads. Let's say they average 50,000 megatons. Let's say there is an
    equivalent number outside the U.S. arenal. Let's say there are five
    billion humans. I think the arithmetic is:
    
         [2 (U.S. and other) * 20000 (warheads) * 50000 (magtons) *
          2000 (pounds per ton) * 1000 (the "mega" in megatons?) ]
          --------------------------------------------------------
                                5000000000
    
    This works out to 400,000 pounds (!!!!!!!!!!!!) of TNT per human.
    
    This must be wrong... perhaps this would be better discussed in
    DECWET::PHYSICS?!
    
    - Hoyt

I don't think that a bomb having the explosive force of 50,000 megatonnes of
TNT has ever been built.  The largest that I know of ever having been tested
are on the close order of 100 megatonnes (spelling from The Moon is a Harsh
Mistress, and possibly british).

The average is probably less than one megaton.  This includes nuclear artillery
shells, MIRVs, bomber-delivered, cruise missles etc., but might possibly be as
high as 10 megatonnes.

On the other hand, "mega" means million, not thousand (which would be "kilo").
So, correcting for arithmetic errors, and assuming an average yield of one
megaton, that gives 16,000 TNT-pounds-equivalent per human being.

I don't know if a ton is really 2,000 pounds.  There is a "long ton" which is
heavier (like regular and nautical miles).  It seems quite likely that they
use a METRIC ton (a megagram, or approx. 2,200) for this measurement.

Speaking as a more-or-less recovered pyromaniac, it sure would be neat if I
could go down to the local govt. offices and apply for my share to make loud
noises with...

						-- Spencer

    Jeez, the largest warhead in ANY arsenal in the world is a 50 megaton
    one in the Societ Union's.
    
    The average size of a warhead is about 200 kilotons.  We rely mainly on
    accuracy of delivery platforms for damage.
    
    Retry your calculations using that information.

    
    The average Soviet atomic warhead size is larger than the US.  I don't
    know the exact figure, but I think it is about a 1/2 MT.  
    
    Also, you are only counting the warheads used for city bashing, the
    'tactical' nukes are alot smaller than that.  They are about 25KT or
    so, and they are a large portion of the nuclear arsenals.
    
    							-Andy
    

    Let's try again.  There are about 250 million American citizens.  
    The country has about 20,000 nuclear weapons ranging in size from 
    25 KT to 200 KT.  Let's call the average 100 KT.  That works out 
    to 8 tonnes of TNT per American.   Every single American has 
    enough explosive to completely destroy their school or place of work...
    If we assume that the Soviets have a similar amount and neglect 
    the other nuclear powers, that works out to 1600 pounds apiece 
    for everyone on the planet.  If Asimov said it was two hundred 
    pounds apiece, he seems to be off by an order of magnitude.  /jlr

    Gee, all that megatonnage just for me!
    

    Avimov himself never said that was a real number, there was a story in
    IASFM that peripherally mentioned it, and I thought I'd check with the
    experts here to see...
    
    Willie

    Hi,
    	a few back `ton', `tonne' and `long-ton'.
    
    ton - imperial (UK) system - 2240 lb - approx 1016 kg
        - US system - 2000 lb - approx 907 kg (a.k.a. `short-ton')
    tonne - 1000 kg
    long-ton - imperial ton - 2240 lb
    
    question,
    	when are you guys gonna join the civilised world and use the m.k.s.
    (SI) system ?
    		 hazza :*]
    
    p.s. "m.k.s." - metres/kilograms/seconds
         "SI" - Systeme International d'Unites - a refinement of the
    		original metric system of measurement

Bit late, but...


Of course the ton per head is constantly going down...

The world's population is ever increasing (too fast)

Mike

    
    It's all a bit pointless - just one stick of gelignite down the
    trousers will ruin anybody's day...  I mean, to simulate your share do
    you lie on top of a 'n' hundred pound pile of TNT, or cover yourself
    with it before detonating?
    
    The lunacy of overkill figures that springs to my mind is the one about
    the death dealing equivalent of suspending (I don't pretend to remember
    the figures, but it goes something like this) a 1 tonne weight 4000
    feet above the heads of everybody on the planet.  It's gratuitous
    enough to probably show up in an Arnie Schwarzenegger of Dolph Lundgren
    movie...