HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: whheydt@pbhya.PacBell.COM (Wilson Heydt)
Subject: Re: Mini-Atomics
Reply-To: whheydt@PacBell.COM (Wilson Heydt)
Organization: Pacific * Bell, San Ramon, CA
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 17:56:29 GMT

In article <5576@arccs1.fed.FRB.GOV> m1phm02@fed.frb.gov (Patrick H. McAllister) writes:
>In article <1992Sep4.214545.25904@bert.eecs.uic.edu>, artn@bert.eecs.uic.edu (Ellyn Sandor) writes:
>|> 	But... what is the minimum practical size of a fission or fusion
>|> bomb?  The aforementioned projectile bomb is purported to vaporize about
>|> one city block.  Is that realistic?  Can an atomic grenade be made, say
>|> one to ten pounds, which can destroy a single building?  A few ounces
>|> for a room?
>
>NY Times today (9/9) has an op-ed piece by someone who sounds a bit paranoid about a secret program to build small nukes. The article talked about bombs with yields down to about 10 tons (for use as super "bunker busters"). You might be able to get a better answer to your question in sci.military. I believe the critical variables are how much the fissionable material can be compressed and how efficiently neutrons can be injected/kept in the bomb.

Ah, the joys of not knowing istory.

The US used to have a back-pack nuclear demolition charge.  It had a
dial-in yeild down to the equivalent of 250 tons.  (That ).25 KT,
folks.)  The Army pulled it out of service after someone realized that
having a nuke in charge of a couple of Serjeants didn't seem like all
that hot an idea . . .

Why does everyone seem to think that small nukes are a new idea?

	--Hal
-- 
Hal Heydt                    |    "Boycott Time-Warner"
Analyst, Pacific*Bell        |         --J. Danforth Quayle
510-823-5447                 |    "... kill all the lawyers."
whheydt@pbhya.PacBell.COM    |         --William Shakespeare
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.science
From: mvp@hsv3.lsil.com (Mike Van Pelt)
Subject: Re: Laser weapons
Organization: LSI Logic/Headland Technology
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 02:33:32 GMT

In article <+4lnw#+.dani@netcom.com> dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig) writes:
>mvp@hsv3.lsil.com (Mike Van Pelt):
>>He said that people who invoke mirrors as a defense against very high
>>power lasers just don't understand this effect.

>Do I take it we can dismiss the wearing of green cloaks as a defense
>against green laser beams as another Nivenism?

Louis Wu's laser flashlight as described didn't seem to be nearly
powerful enough to cause a laser propagated detonation.   It was
burning and cutting, not exploding the target.  I suspect the delay
caused by the green cloak would be less than Niven says, but I
suppose it's possible.
-- 
Mike Van Pelt                          Here lies a Technophobe,
LSI Logic/Headland Products               No whimper, no blast.
sun!indetech!hsv3!mvp                  His life's goal accomplished,
mvp@hsv3.lsil.com                         Zero risk at last.
From: chinja@geloser.CAM.ORG (delta)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.science
Subject: Exploding Bullets
Date: 10 Sep 92 14:38:54 GMT
Organization: Gentleman Loser System, Montreal/Qc/Cdn

'Explosive Bullets' are more like superduper hollowpoints...

Explosive bullets, ie Glaser bullets, are highly effective against
soft targets such as humans due to their explosive properties. When
contact is made, it is quite similar to that of a small shotgun. If
the round makes contact with the shoulder, for example, it is highly
probable that the shoulder will bet blown/shredded apart taking with
it the appropriate arm.
This will render the victim in a complete state of shock and the trauma
caused by the blast will cause massive bleeding out of the exposed 
arteries.
Of course, this goes to say that the victim may not die but will be
crippled. One stands a 86% chance of dying when shot by a 44 Magnum
bullet which is one of the most powerful commercially available
round out on the market, excluding specialized bullets. Naturally,
the smaller the caliber, the less chance of dying. Against, a shotgun or 
rifle, death is almost certain.


                Have a nice day, Folks!

--
chinja@geloser.cam.org
Gentleman Loser System -- Montreal, Qc, Canada
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.science,rec.arts.sf.written
From: rwallace@unix1.tcd.ie (russell wallace)
Subject: Re: Something Nasty in the Human Genome
Organization: Trinity College, Dublin
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 09:26:10 GMT

In <1992Sep10.212615.768@csc.canterbury.ac.nz> chisnall@cosc.canterbury.ac.nz (The Technicolour Throw-up) writes:

>From article <1992Sep8.094119.26816@crc.ac.uk>, by gwilliam@crc.ac.uk (Gary Williams x3294):
>>>In article <1992Sep3.031844.21399@news.eng.convex.com>, cash@convex.com (Peter Cash) writes:
>>>Hmmm. I read an article in my local newspaper a few days ago that claimed
>>>that several research teams have found a "fractal pattern" in the "junk"
>>>DNA of many diverse lifeforms, including man. (According to one team, the
>>>fractal complexity was highest for man, according to the other, it wasn't.)

Yes, but wouldn't you naturally expect to find fractal sequences in the
junk DNA? After all, the junk DNA is formed not by random nucleotides
getting appended one by one, but by the duplication (and subsequent
modification) of segments of DNA of various sizes. Hence you would
expect it to be self-similar at a variety of scales, which is what a
fractal is.

--
"To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem"
Russell Wallace, Trinity College, Dublin
rwallace@unix1.tcd.ie
From: fiddler@concertina.Eng.Sun.COM (steve hix)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.science
Subject: Re: Laser/Future Weapons
Date: 8 Sep 1992 19:15:13 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mt. View, Ca.
NNTP-Posting-Host: concertina

In article <TiTNqB1w164w@geloser.CAM.ORG> chinja@geloser.CAM.ORG (delta) writes:
>Hi Everyone!
>      I was reading your discussion about the possibilities of replacing
>the bullet with some new weapon. The discussion revolves around the use
>of movie-type weapons, ie lasers, sonic weapons, etc.
>      The primary fault of the discussion is the power requirement of su
>weapons. Another interesting point that was not discussed is battle-field
>survivability of such weapons.
>      I can assume that many who have read this owns or owned a "Walkman"       
>type radio. Packed full of electronics, if it has a cassette player, draws
>from the battery like crazy. If dropped,...... 

But it isn't a Combat Walkman, is it?

The Combat Walkman(tm) would be twice as heavy, able to withstand enormous
shock, etc.  Expensive.  Probably do away with magnetic tape (too fragile).
Use something like rad-hardened ROMs to store the music...not compatible
with current Walkman device, tough though.

It could be done, it just wouldn't look much like current consumer stuff.

>The battlefield weapon of 
>choice, using bullets, is the AK-47. It can withstand almost any abuse
>from the user. I can not see in the near future the development of weapons
>discussed earlier./s

The AK-47 as "weapon of choice" depends on the terrain.  In a treeless
region with good visibility, something like the old Enfield SMLE or
a Springfield 1903A3 would be far better, as the AK isn't all that
good at long range.  A lot of the mujahadeen seemed to still be somewhat
partial to the old Enfield.

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Of making many books there is no end...  |  What's wrong with chasing 
                       -- Eccl. 12:12    |  nebulae till 3 am?  |-(
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.science
From: jdnicoll@watyew.uwaterloo.ca (James Davis Nicoll)
Subject: Re: Mini-Atomics
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 14:30:22 GMT

In article <1992Sep8.162944.25894@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com> johnmc@comm.mot.com (John McCash) writes:
>
>			Also, I'm not sure what the explosive yield of such a
>weapon would be. As I hazily recall, the conversion efficiency of a fission
>warhead is about either 3% or 30%. This would mean that either 1 gram or .1
>gram would be converted to energy. I think critical mass for plutonium is
>roughly 10kg, so for a regular 2 kiloton or so warhead you're converting either
>3 or .3kg to energy. So, assuming these figures are correct, and they may not
>be, the explosive yield should be roughly equivalent to 1/3 ton of TNT.

	The figure I heard for the  rule-of-thumb for fission was that
about 0.01% of the mass converts to energy. For the 10kg of Pu,  that's
about 20 kt. For a hypothetical 40 gram critical mass, that'd get you
0.09 kt.

								James  Nicoll
From: jbf@wts.com (Jens B. Fiederer)
Subject: Re: Niven's teleportation & 2nd law of thermodyna
Organization: Wegmans Transaction Services
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 19:37:56 GMT

In article <1992Sep10.095409.462@cine88.cineca.it> campo@sunthpi3.difi.unipi.it writes:
>In article <1992Sep9.145536.5299@wts.com>, jbf@wts.com (Jens B. Fiederer) writes:
>|> In article <FRANCIS.92Sep3094741@galois.dogwood.atl.ga.us> francis@dogwood.atl.ga.us (John Stracke) writes:
>|> >Make that *extremely* unlikely.  Sufficiently unlikely that it
>|> >probably has not occurred more than a handful of times in the history
>|> >of the Universe to date.
>|> >
>|> It has happened innumerable times!!!  The trick is to choose VERY SMALL
>   ====================================
>|> SYSTEMS.  The larger the system, the more the laws of large numbers
>|> predominate.
>|> 
>|> Jens
>
>   Not for macroscopic systems; a small decrease in entropy 
>like 1 Joule/Kelvin has a probability of approx. 
[calculations omitted]
>   Of course thermodynamics is not applicable to *very* small systems 
>(e.g. less than 10^4--10^6 atoms).
>
>-- 
>        Massimo Campostrini,
>Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa,
>Piazza Torricelli 2, I-56126 Pisa, Italy  ||  Phone: (+39)(50)42093
>Internet: campo@sunthpi3.difi.unipi.it    ||  Fax:   (+39)(50)48277

That is why you choose VERY SMALL SYSTEMS.  Notice that my claim is not
that the Universe has experienced a decrease in entropy even once, but that
some sub-microscopic subsystems have -- very frequently.  Just pick
individual atoms.  Trivial, but true...

Jens
(Hey, don't expect any profound revelations about Physics from me --
 my physics education stopped at the undergratuate level!)
From: spitzak@gree.Eng.Sun.COM (Bill Spitzak)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.science
Subject: Re: Niven's teleportation & 2nd law of thermodynamics (was: Superconductors + the 2
Date: 9 Sep 1992 06:45:37 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems
Distribution: world
Reply-To: spitzak@gree.Eng.Sun.COM
NNTP-Posting-Host: gree

>From article <1992Sep2.114236.428@cine88.cineca.it>, by campo@sunthpi3.difi.unipi.it (Massimo Campostrini):
>[...]
>>    Any comment on this? Maybe the 2nd law of thermodynamics is
>> supposed to be "less fundamental" or "less established" than the
>> 1st by non-physicists?

Isn't it ok if the transportation device uses enough energy (which is then
turned into heat and thus entrophy of the transporter and the air around it)?

Bill Spitzak


Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.science
From: rwallace@unix1.tcd.ie (russell wallace)
Subject: Re: Mini-Atomics
Organization: Trinity College, Dublin
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1992 13:12:00 GMT

Basically a fission device requires a critical mass, and therefore a
certain minimum amount of fissionable material. (Though you *can* reduce
the explosive yield almost arbitrarily by making the bomb inefficient so
that most of the material remains unfissioned.)

In principle, one could built mini fusion devices, if one had a means of
detonating them (current fusion devices require a fission trigger, and
therefore a critical mass). I can't really think of anything small that
could set off a fusion device without a fission trigger though (lasers?
but they're very big and heavy, much more so than a fission device).

--
"To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem"
Russell Wallace, Trinity College, Dublin
rwallace@unix1.tcd.ie
From: u0573ac@unx.ucc.okstate.edu (login 3 of account 10573)
Subject: Angel of Darkness by Samuel M. Key
Organization: Oklahoma State University Computer Center
Distribution: rec.arts.sf.marketplace
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 00:11:40 GMT

I am looking for a copy of the novel Angel Of Darkness by Samuel M. Key.

If someone out there has a copy that they would be interested in selling
to me e-mail me at u0573ac@unx.ucc.okstate.edu
From:  (David Greenlie)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.marketplace
Subject: looking for Fool'sErrand and misc books
Date: 8 Sep 92 18:48:25 GMT
Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.marketplace

My friend Leslie is looking for the following Sci/Fi books: --any help?
She can also be reached at 617-324-4064. Thanks.

-->Steven Lawhead: Dragon King Series #1
--> Jo Clayton:Diadem from the Stars,Star Hunters,Mauve,The Nowhere
	Hunt,Ghosthunt,Snares of Ibex,Shadowplay,
-->anything by  Jacqueline Lichtenberg or Jean Lorrah
-->from the RuneswardTrilogy: Outcasts(ClaytonEmery),Dreamstone(J.F.Revkin)

-->Sherri Tepper: Southshore, The Awakeners Series
-->(misc): Flight of Maven Manyslake,JeneanFootseer, Kings Blood
	Four,Necromancer Nine, Wizard's Eleven


also Macintosh sources for Fool's Errand, a tarot-based game
Xref: sparky rec.arts.sf.marketplace:467 rec.mag:174 rec.collecting:6474 rec.arts.tv:17761 rec.arts.tv.uk:5446 rec.arts.sf.tv:3181 rec.arts.movies:27711 rec.arts.sf.movies:7052
From: zombolas@credence.com (Gene Zombolas)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.marketplace,rec.mag,rec.collecting,rec.arts.tv,rec.arts.tv.uk,rec.arts.sf.tv,rec.arts.movies,rec.arts.sf.movies
Subject: FOR SALE:  TV & Movie Sci-Fi Magazines
Date: 14 Sep 92 20:19:39 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Credence Systems Inc.


		TV & MOVIE SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINES FOR SALE

    ************************************************************************

    All items are one of kind.  Magazines are in near fine condition or
    better (most are mint).  Everything has a 100% guaranteed and may be
    returned for any reason on no reason for a full refund within seven
    days or receipt.

    Postage is $2.50 for all orders.  All books will be shipped via the
    United States Postal Service (book rate domestic; surface foriegn).
    Sorry, no UPS.

    Books my be reserved by email at zombolas@credence.com or by phone
    in the evenings at 408-246-7654.  Reservations are held for 7 days
    pending payment.  PLEASE, IF YOU RESERVE AN ITEM, PAY FOR IT.  If
    you don't, you may take a book away from somebody else who realy wants
    it.

    Send payments to:
	Gene Zombolas
	444 Saratoga Ave. #5G
	Santa Clara, CA  95050

    ************************************************************************

    Blake's 7 Monthly:
	#7.  $5.00

    Cinefantastique:
	Vol #5, No. 2.  Logan's Run issue.  $15.00
	Vol #8, Nos. 2 & 3.  Forbidden Planet double issue.  $12.50

    Cinfex:
	 #9, July 1982.  Blade Runner issue.  $10.00

    Dr Who Monthly:
	55, 69, 70, 79, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92
	93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 100, 101, 110.  $2.50 each

    Dr Who Specials:
	 Win 83, Win 84, Sum 84, Win 85.  $3.50 each

    Famous Monsters Star Wars Spetacular:
	#1, 1977.  $7.50

    Fangoria:
	1.  $10.00
	2, 3, 4, 5.  $7.50 each.
	6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 21.  $5.00 each.

    Fantasy Empire:
	 8, 11.  $3.50 each

    Fantasy Image:
	#3, June 1985.  Dr. Who, Sapphire and Steel, etc.  $5.00

    Future:
	#1.  $5.00

    Rocky Horry Official Poster Magazine:
	 #1.  $7.50

    Science Fiction Film Classics:
	#1, Winter 77.  Star Wars, 2001, Forbidden Planet.  $7.50
	#3, Aug 78.  Star Trek, Laserblast, This Island Earth.  $5.00

    Starburst:
	 #33.  $2.50

    Starlog:
	7, 8, 9, 10.  $5.00 each.

	11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.  $4.00 each

	25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 41, 42, 43,
	44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49 50.  $3.00 each.

	41, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 61, 62, 64, 68, 73, 74, 75, 77,
	78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 89, 90, 95.  $2.50 each.

    Starlog Photo Guidebook:
	#1.  Spaceships.  $5.00

    Twilight Zone:
	#1, Apr 81.  $10.00
	Aug 81, Sept 81, Oct 81.  $4.00 each
From: cc697@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Eric Oppen)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.marketplace
Subject: Music from the 21st Century
Date: 6 Sep 1992 08:41:01 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: cc697@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Eric Oppen)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc5.ins.cwru.edu


At my first ICon, I bought a tape with this title.  I don't have it here,
but it was lovely futuristic electronic music from a company in Los
Angeles.
My tape is getting awfully worn, and if anybody could tell me where to get
a new copy of the tape, or even a CD, I'd be quite grateful.
-- 
Note to the Constitutionally impaired:  "...the RIGHT of the people to KEEP
and BEAR arms..." means EXACTLY what it says!
Vote Libertarian, Grassroots, or any third party...the Demopublicans are a
bipartisan evil!        "Technomad"  cc697@cleveland.freenet.edu
Organization: Computer Repair, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
From: igor@access.digex.com (Dan White)
Subject: Re: Looking for Grammar of the Elvish Language
Organization: Society for the Prevention of Paronomastic Defenestration
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1992 19:10:31 GMT

Possibly you are looking for "An Introduction to Elvish" edited by
Jim Allen, published somewhere in England by Boar's Head Press ?

I know of one book shop that might have it.  "Tales From the White
Hart" in Baltimore -- phone (410) 889-0099

Otherwise, e-mail back and I'll try to help.
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.marketplace
From: abennett@athena.mit.edu (Andrew A. Bennett)
Subject: AMT K-7 Space Station for sale
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 18:35:08 GMT

I have an origional issue AMT K-7 Space Station kit for trade or sale.  It is
complete, but not shrink-wrapped. Ideally I'd like to swap for the Monogram
Visible B-17 kit or the Monogram Space Taxi, but I'll also entertain any offers
of $50.00 or more (the kit runs $75-100 in catalogs, and more at conventions).

-Drew

--
Andrew Bennett                 MIT AUV Lab                    abennett@mit.edu
MIT Room E38-312                                 abennett%athena@mitvma.bitnet
77 Massachusetts Ave.                                    Phone: (617) 253-0653
Cambridge, MA  02139                              <Standard disclaimers apply>
                           All subs sink,
                                  Ours think!
From: hilding@catfish.ocpt.ccur.com (Hilding Holroyd)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.marketplace
Subject: Re: looking for Fool'sErrand and misc books
Summary: Stephen Lawhead Books
Date: 9 Sep 92 13:23:50 GMT
Organization: Concurrent Computer ,Oceanport NJ

In article <1820@hsdndev.UUCP>,  (David Greenlie) writes:
> My friend Leslie is looking for the following Sci/Fi books: --any help?
> She can also be reached at 617-324-4064. Thanks.
> 
> -->Steven Lawhead: Dragon King Series #1

Steven Lawhead books can be (now) found in most bookstores, i.e.
Barnes & Noble or Dalton. If not, you can go to a local
Christian Book Store and they will be able to get it for you.

-- 

US MAIL: Hilding W. Holroyd - CONCURRENT COMPUTER CORP.(Ex MASSCOMP,Interdata)
FAX: 908-870-5952    2 Crescent Place, Oceanport NJ 07757   PH 908-870-4558 
UUCP:  rutgers.edu!ocpt!holroyd    or   Internet:  holroyd@ocpt.ccur.com
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.marketplace
From: gaserre@waco.gain.com (Glenn Serre)
Subject: Looking to buy Jack Vance books (Palace of Love, especially)
Organization: Gain Technology, Inc., Palo Alto, CA
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 19:05:11 GMT


Basically, I'm looking for any books by Jack Vance that I haven't already 
read.  I'm especially looking for "Palace of Love" (part of the Demon Princes
series).  

If you have a copy that you'd be willing to sell (or have suggestions as to
where I could look in the S.F. Bay Area), please reply by email.  

Thanks!

-- Glenn Serre
gaserre@gain.com
--

--Glenn S. (gaserre)
From: cc697@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Eric Oppen)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.marketplace
Subject: Looking for Grammar of the Elvish Language
Date: 6 Sep 1992 08:39:39 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: cc697@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Eric Oppen)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc5.ins.cwru.edu


At the first couple of science fiction conventions I ever attended, I saw a
paperback book for sale in the huxter room called something like "A Grammar
of Tolkien's Elvish."  It wasn't "The Languages of Middle-Earth", which I
own, and I've been kicking myself for not picking it up.  Can anybody help
me find a copy?
-- 
Note to the Constitutionally impaired:  "...the RIGHT of the people to KEEP
and BEAR arms..." means EXACTLY what it says!
Vote Libertarian, Grassroots, or any third party...the Demopublicans are a
bipartisan evil!        "Technomad"  cc697@cleveland.freenet.edu
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.marketplace
From: arien@milton.u.washington.edu (in*con*sistent kat)
Subject: WANTED: Liz Berry's _Easy Connection[s]_
Summary: looking for a YA painting/rock-fantasy novel
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 20:50:10 GMT

Liz Berry's _Easy Connection_ (or _Easy Connections_) has been out for at least
four years, and looked marketed for young adults when I saw it.

It involves a Young Female Painter who gets involved with a Rock Star Who's
A Tad Fey (there's a quasi-rape and she gets pregnant w/ his child); he 
chases her around and all she wants to do is paint; finally she 
cuts a deal with him to get peace, and the impression I had was that she 
gets what she wants and he doesn't/won't.

I'd really like to have this book, and I'm willing to pay a good price for it;
send me e-mail if you're interested.

					Thanks!
						Arien

|> "Anyone can have the harmony, if they would leave us the counterpoint." <|
|>  --Dorothy Sayers' _Gaudy Night_  //  arien@u.washington.edu            <|
|>		                    //  arien@blegga.cac.washington.edu    <|

Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.marketplace
id <m0mT13g-0000tiC@crash.cts.com>; Thu, 10 Sep 92 19: 48 PDT
	id <ia69035@pro-amber.cts.com>; Thu, 10 Sep 92 19: 10 PDT
From: rsopicki@pro-amber.cts.com (Randy Sopicki)
Subject: Linda Hamilton
Organization: ProLine [pro-amber] -- Spring Valley, Ca
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 92 19:10:15 PDT

Looking for photos of Linda Hamilton as Sarah Conner.