On Saturday, 29 February 2020 at 21:50:26 UTC+5:30, timj4...@gmail.com wrot= >e:
In McPhee's book "The Curve of Binding Energy" he describes how the inspi= >ration for the Orion spacecraft came from a nuclear test of a 20kt warhead = >where large graphite-coated steel spheres were suspended ~9m from the epice= >nter of the explosion. These spheres had a minuscule amount of graphite abl= >ated from the surface but were otherwise unscathed. How was it that these s= >pheres were undamaged despite being within spitting distance of a 20kt expl= >osion? I can easily buy that there was little vaporization of the spheres, = >but how is it that the spheres avoided being shattered or otherwise mechani= >cally deformed?=20have presumably used such technology for more efficient utilization of its= nukes. There's an image on the site depicting a casaba howitzer unit deton=
=20
Extending into Orion spaceships, the book goes on to describe how a 20kt = >bomb would be detonated 30m away from the pusher plate, and that only an ex= >tremely thin layer (a fraction of a mm) would be ablated each time. This wo= >uld be realized by spraying on a thin layer of oil between each shot.=20
=20
On projectrho there are descriptions of casaba howitzers and how they dir= >ect most a bomb's energy in a specific direction. The Orion spaceship would=
ating 25m away from the pusher plate (http://www.projectrho.com/public_html= >/rocket/images/enginelist/orionStandoff.jpg). While the exact yield is not = >given, presumably most of the energy of a multi-kiloton warhead is impingin= >g on the pusher plate.=20
=20right next to it?!=20
The pattern is that extremely thin layers of material seem to be able to = >protect against the immense energies of nuke. I knew nukes were inefficient= >, but I didn't expect them to be THAT inefficient. If you gave your ship a = >thin graphite coating would it be proof against nukes going off practically=
=20then? If a pulse unit could hardly ablate a plate at 25m, then what good i=
What of the implications for casaba howitzers as weapons in light of this=
s a weaponized casaba howitzer at many times the range? Granted the pulse u= >nit is a wide angle cone, but that was at 25m -- casaba howitzers were envi= >sioned to be used at several km's.
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