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From: ethan@utastro.UUCP (Ethan Vishniac)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: Star-wars,heh,heh
Message-ID: <440@utastro.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 29-Jul-85 11:08:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: utastro.440
Posted: Mon Jul 29 11:08:31 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 31-Jul-85 05:48:32 EDT
References: <573@mtuxt.UUCP>
Organization: U. Texas, Astronomy, Austin, TX
Lines: 18

>  By the way ask your local nuclear physicist what
> would happen to the earths atmosphere when all these nukes are
> detonated in the stratosphere. Break up of the ozone layer by
> itself (which will be the first to go) will kill us from UV
> exposure alone, not to mention radiation swirling around the earth.

Actually, one of the things that would happen if someone set off just
a few nukes in the atmosphere is that it would become opaque to
x-ray lasers, rendering that particular strategy completely impotent.

Just thought I'd let you know.  I believe this point was first made
by Sidney Drell.
-- 

"Don't argue with a fool.      Ethan Vishniac
 Borrow his money."            {charm,ut-sally,ut-ngp,noao}!utastro!ethan
                               Department of Astronomy
                               University of Texas