From: Michael S. Lorrey (retroman@together.net)
Date: Wed Dec 30 1998 - 07:40:59 MST
Randy wrote:
> On Tue, 29 Dec 1998 10:34:08 -0800, you wrote:
>
> >As we pass Cerenkov 1.0 in the target, we get a new phenomenon -- Cerenkov
> >radiation. This is that distinctive blue glow seen around water-cooled
> >reactors. It's just (relatively) harmless light (harmless compared to
> >the other blast effects, that is). I mention it only because it's so
> >nifty...
>
> Yes...heard much about that as a nuclear reactor operator in the US
> Navy some years ago. We used to peer through the leaded glass when
> passing the reactor tunnel, hoping to catch a glimpse of the "Cerenkov
> glow." Never did see it, though.
>
> However, I did see some Saint Elmo's Fire once though, out to sea on
> an aircraft carrier; also a blue glow, but an entirely different
> phenomenon....
I would imagine that the leaded glass stops pretty much all of that light,
since its usually high end intense blue and UV light. The problem is that
usually if you are in a position to see the light, you are probably gonna spend
some time in the hospital getting flushed with neutron absorbers afterward
(such is life, you always pay a price to do the fun stuff....).
I don't know if St. Elmo's fire isn't emitting due to the same phenomena, as
the fire is a plasma bottle, the plasma particles are probably moving around at
a pretty good clip inside the bottle. I do remember lighting off a makeshift
gauss gun at a freinds place in Seattle once, shooting a copper plasma at a
concrete wall. It definitely put out a neat glowing beam of short duration as
it was fired. A little 1/4" slug of 12 guage copper wire was the projectile
source, it blew a 6 inch wide hole in a concrete block wall.... neat stuff....
gotta put one together for home defense purposes.....
Mike Lorrey
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