The mineshaft gap
You just knew this would happen. The United States had the “Mother of All Bombs”, the MOAB. But now the Russians have developed the FOAB, the “Father of All Bombs.”
Once again we have a mineshaft gap.
This is one seriously big bomb. Kills everything within three miles and causes deafness within four miles.
September 12th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
This thing is four times the power of the MOAB. Supposedly the power of a very small nuke.
This cannot be good for these people.
September 12th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Biggest ever conventional bomb? It’s like warfare is going retro.
Next: China reveals deadliest-ever bayonet!
September 12th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
2000 yard blast area? Mercy sakes, that’s one nautical mile! (a statute mile is 1,760 yards)
September 12th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
Speaking of the Chinese, let’s hope they are not competitive. Can you imagine the Mother-in-law of All Bombs?
Let’s not go there…
September 12th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
It’s a big bomb if they can actually make it work reliably. We have been experimenting with fuel/air explosives since the 50s at least and have never been able to develop anything reliable. A lot of the time it just turns into a couple of thousand gallons of spilled gas burning.
September 12th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
OK, how many people are actually going to get the Dr. Strangelove reference?
Next you will pulling post titles out of the Mouse that Roared.
September 12th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
What a great set of characters
Brig. Gen. Jack D. Ripper
Col. ‘Bat’ Guano
Maj. T.J. ‘King’ Kong
(I love IMDB!)
General Jack D. Ripper: Mandrake, do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk… ice cream. Ice cream, Mandrake, children’s ice cream.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Lord, Jack.
General Jack D. Ripper: You know when fluoridation first began?
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: I… no, no. I don’t, Jack.
General Jack D. Ripper: Nineteen hundred and forty-six. Nineteen forty-six, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? It’s incredibly obvious, isn’t it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That’s the way your hard-core Commie works.
September 12th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
OK, how many people are actually going to get the Dr. Strangelove reference?
Up here, you would be surprised. Quite the catch phrase on the liberal blogs in Knoxweird.
Next you will pulling post titles out of the Mouse that Roared.
Hmmm….
September 12th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
*ahem*.
YEEEEHAWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!
September 12th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
You knew Dr. Strangegun would get it.
September 12th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
At this point in history, I think Dr Strangelove qualifies as an obscure movie.
September 12th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Deb, never underestimate the dangers of fluoridation. Our beloved Cas Walker warned us long before Dr. Strangelove. In the 1950’s our former Knoxville Mayor thought fluoridation was a “Commie Plot.”
Was Cas the model for General Jack D. Ripper?
September 12th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
I got the Strangeglove reference but that probably says more about my age than my knowlege of movies.
I keep thinking I want to experiment with F/A explosives but I can see it’s a tricky thing. The F/A ratio has to be within a certain range for it to work and how do you get that consistent of a mixture throughout the entire volume?
And making reasonable assumptions about the amount of “power” get from, say, a gallon of fuel is pretty scary. A large percentage of the weight of most explosives is oxygen. If you use oxygen from the air instead putting it in the explosives you get a much larger explosion for the same weight of explosive.
September 13th, 2007 at 8:17 am
Hrmm.
What if this thing isn’t F/A… if it’s vapor-phase monoreactant, it wouldn’t require any air at all. Perhaps they’ve found some chemical that’s stable enough to survive an initial shock, and the secondary “fuse” is a high enough temperature or perhaps a higher velocity shock to set off the cloud? Perhaps it’s a nitrated heavy hydrocarbon… IIRC as the molecular weight rises the stability of nitrated organic chemicals rises as well, it’s much harder to set off trinitrotoluene than nitroglycerin or nitrocellulose. Could we have a cloud of X-nitro-Y-ane with a shock buffer for primary distribution?
The world may never know :-p
September 13th, 2007 at 8:40 am
In a related story the US is now working on a new F/A bomb that is enviromentally friendly. The new FUBAR bomb is said to be able to oblitherate everything in a 10 square mile area and leave a long lasting fresh scent for years to come. heh
BT
September 13th, 2007 at 10:00 am
I don’t know who this “we” is but the US has had FAE weapons in the inventory for years and they work fine.
September 13th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
“Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room!””
I think quite a few of us will get the reference.