From: Unicorn <hvdl@sequent.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Sep 1997 19:14:52 +0800
To: cypherpunks@Algebra.COM
Subject: Re: Nuclear Hedge Funds
In-Reply-To: <v03102802b039df8e51d7@[207.167.93.63]>
Message-ID: <19970909130000.60003@sequent.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



--- On Sep 08, Eric Blossom apparently wrote ----------------------------------

> > (Conventional explosives could also cause  a billion or more dollars
> > worth of damage  to a major wafer fabrication plant,  of course, but
> > the manufacturing  capacity could  be shifted to  other plants  in a
> > matter  of months.  Some  major short  sale  opportunities, but  not
> > nearly what a nuke could do to  a _region_, in terms of direct blast
> > effects, fallout  in surrounding  city blocks  (tens of  square city
> > blocks, at the least, esp. give OSHA standards, etc.), and the sheer
> > panic effect.)

>
> On of my favorite analyses of  a similar scenario is contained in "The
> Curve  of Binding  Energy" by  John  McPhee (available  at your  local
> Borders or  Barnes and Noble).  He basically interviews a  high energy
> physicist  and works  out the  back  of the  envelope calculations  on
> yields, where to get the plutonium, where and how to place the device,
> etc. A key point was that a  high efficiency device is not required. A
> dirty 1.5 kiloton  gadget placed on the 40th floor  of the World Trade
> Center takes  out one  tower and  kills a  shit load  of folks  in the
> adjacent tower. Includes other rules of  thumb such as "one kiloton of
> explosives vaporizes one  kiloton of matter". YMMV, don't  try this at
> home kids, etc, etc.

Destruction by a  nuclear blast is most likely not  even the issue here.
Using a  relatively small amount  of plutonium  (ie. not even  enough to
produce a  critical mass) and enough  explosives to blast this  into the
atmosphere  you  can  kill  a  (very) large  number  of  people  over  a
relatively  small amount  of  time due  to  plutonium toxication.  These
devices are the real "dirty  gadgets", not really expensive and therefor
perfectly suitable for terrorist organisations.

But what a dreadfull way to die...

--- and thus sprach: Eric Blossom <eb@comsec.com> -----------------------------

Ciao,
Unicorn.
-- 
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