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[ThusQED]

[UPDATED] Quirky Acuity - 25- Sept 06 - Squid for Breakfast

[ThusQED]

That much squid has to result in some sort of stomach problem.

Uh...4 pm British time is 1 pm US eastern right?

[silvermoon]

It's in just over two and a half hours time from this post.

[cassandra]

11 am US Eastern time actually

I'm hoping the "howling shadow men" will bring some insight into V/vadik/Cyrus Quinton. (Hopefully not via injury, death, or squidly strangulation, but we'll see...)

[makomk]

The $64,000 dollar question is, which of them will end up hitting the other one first?

[ixalon]

[rose]

Hiroshima

[Ashin]

I can shed some light on that.

During a nuclear detonation, approximately 50% of the overall energy of the blast is released instantly in terms of x-rays and heat (basically, since heat and X-rays are non-visible light, it just lets out LOTS of light).

The X-rays cause radiation damage like we are used to hearing about, but the heat is what really causes the immediate casualities. Supposedly, at roughly half a mile away from a blast, the surface temperature of everything rises to near 2000 degrees Celcius (most objects around your house will set on fire at temperatures waaaaay less than that). This massive blast of heat is what leaves behind the shadow. But the term shadow for this is somewhat of a misnomer. Because the tempterature instantly rises so high on everything, it essentially bleaches it, like leaving it out in the sun too long. So the "shadow" left behind, is actually what the ground really looks like. It didn't get bleached like the surrounding area because something was in the way (in some cases, this was a person [keep in mind this is a flash, not a prolonged heat wave]).

The next part of destruction (most of the remaining 50% of the energy) comes from the pressure wave. Lots of gas and particles are expelled as part of the explosion, so you end up with a very small spot of extremely high pressure. Nature likes to even itself out, so it spreads this pressure in every direction to try to equalize everything again. We know this as wind. Except during a nuclear blast, imagine a 650 kph gust of nasty ripping through town. This is why everything gets leveled around the blast area.

So depending on your distance to the blast, your last moments may be something like this.... With no sound, FLASH. Instantly, your skin is either on fire, or your clothes are now so hot that they are turning you skin to charcoal as you wear them. If you happened to be looking towards the flash, you are now instantly blind. If you were really close to the blast, you've already vaporized into nothing, you are now in a gaseous state. Wait a few seconds.... BOOM. The sound of the blast hits you, possibly destroying your hearing. Wait a couple more seconds... a 650 kph sledgehammer hits you and you learn to fly, and so does everything else around you. You are now part of a moving wall of rubble, debris, cars, and buildings that used to be stationary. If you somehow manage to survive this, you'll probably die of radiation within days/weeks/months. The farther out you are, the more it shifts to, you got a really bad sun burn, your eyes hurt, and you got knocked over in a gust, and will have medical problems for the next 20 years. Personally, I'd rather be at the epicenter.

It's been mentioned that the cube lets out radiation, and from what we keep hearing, it can let out lots of radiation (it is supposedly a weapon). It could very possible for there to be burnt shadows of people who got to close to the cube when it let off that radiation during tests or use, etc.

Good thinking rose.

[rose]

Ashin - thanks for the explanation. I understand it now.

I am still wondering about the properties of the Cube - a destructive weapon that seems to have transported Combed Thunderclap to Earth with no ill effects.

I guess we just need to stay tuned.

[myf]

Ashin, that really was a very good and useful explanantion. Thanks!

[silvermoon]

[Flabyo]

Reading Scarlett's description of Anjsbourg makes it pretty clear that it was taken out by something a lot like a nuclear weapon. Perhaps the cube is a clean form, ie, without the heavy atom releated radiation effects.