[Phys-L] Re: Light from fireball visible?

[Bernard Cleyet <bernardcleyet@REDSHIFT.COM>]

Another example of why I should not abbreviate.  The subject was
correct, but my first sentence misleading -- the original source is
flash seen, not ball.    I immediately answered (my friend) only a glow
as it's below the horizon.  It was also an illuminating exercise
(intended).  I spent many hours on this.  I finally decided to use
Glasstone exclusively except for geography.  I got initial L & L and
distances from a large atlas (Rand McNally, Masterpiece Ed.),
confirmation and topography from Google Earth.  I found one web site
that gave the location of ground zero and concentric circles for the
various damage, but lost it, so I assumed it behind (WRT Shanghai)  the
highest part of the SW hills.

I am a bit puzzled about HH's discussion of Nipponese fear of the
Chinese; perhaps you conflate w/ N. Korea?

China is the only * power that has tested a bomb using a (a DF-2, 3000
Km range,  1966) missile.  They've been able to destroy Japan for
decades.  The US has fired a number from howitzers, but only seven?
miles.  If Japan fears China, they certainly much more Korea.  Korea is,
justifiably, very angry w/ Japan.

Incidentally,

http://www.ask.ne.jp/~hankaku/english/np11y.html
<http://www.ask.ne.jp/%7Ehankaku/english/np11y.html>

claims Japan had a criticality accident [19990930];  worker dies from
neutron radiation.

* Unless Pakistan &/or India have.

bc, who knew Shanghai was a port city, because sailors are Shanghaied to
there.

p.s. one of you recommended Google Earth recently and I forgot -- found
accidentally.  I highly recommend it.  Gives location, topography,
distances, and a lot of commercial junk using layers.


Hugh Haskell wrote:

> At 22:21  -0500 2/9/06, Hugh Haskell wrote:
>
>
>
> > . . . given that one
> > time zone is approx. 1700 km, and Shanghai is only 800 km from
> > Nagasaki, and given the time of detonation at Nagasaki, the sun
> > should have been well risen in hai by that time, so I doubt that
> > a reflection would have been sufficiently brighter than the
> > background to be noticed, even if it could be detected.
>
> It's been a long day, and I'm not thinking to well. Of course, at 32
> deg. N lat. a time zone won't be 1700 km--that's the equatorial
> distance, but its not a whole lot less at that latitude, maybe 1450
> km. In any event I took the trouble to look at a map, and noted that
> both Nagasaki and Shanghai are at about 32 N, and Nagasaki is at
> about 130 E while Shanghai is at about 121 E, meaning that the sun
> will be only about 9 degrees lower in the sky at any time than it is
> in Nagasaki (in the early morning, that is). According to the website
> of the 509th bomber group, Fat Man detonated at 12:02 PM at an
> altitude of 1840 ft ASL (that number is probably based on a
> calculated fall distance from the drop point, which was measured with
> an altimeter setting of 29.92 in. Hg. So it may have been lower if
> the local pressure was lower than standard that day, which may
> account for the difference between this HOB and that quoted by BC
> earlier.
>
> But it is clear that the sun would have been approximately overhead
> in both cities at the time of the explosion. Still more evidence that
> the fireball or any other immediate evidence of the explosion would
> not have been seen in Shanghai.
>
> If I learned anything from this little exercise, it has been some
> geography. I had completely forgotten that Shanghai is a coastal
> city, and I was also unaware that it was that close to the main
> islands of Japan. This does give me some understanding of why Japan
> is so nervous about the Chinese gaining a nuclear missile capability,
> even if it is not very long range--it doesn't have to be with much of
> Japan less than 2000 km from likely launch points in China.
>
> Hugh
> --
>
> Hugh Haskell
> <mailto:haskell@ncssm.edu>
> <mailto:hhaskell@mindspring.com>
>
> (919) 467-7610
>
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