[Default] I missed the Staff meeting, but the Memos showed that
"careysub@..." wrote on Tue, 7 Sep 2010
09:05:15 -0700 (PDT) in soc.history.what-if :
>
>A smoke mixture (probably blackpowder based) that distilled arsenic
>into the air is a plausible chemical weapon for development prior to
>the 20th century, but it would have been hard to get any useful
>casualties out of it in combat. Novelty weapons that are ineffective
>are a dime a dozen (that's really cheap these days).
This is the "problem" in a nutshell. Something works well in
trials, or under certain conditions, but not always. Or not reliably.
I had a prof who in his youth, had attempted to make "Carmel"
rocket fuel. Basically a solid booster made of sugar and aluminum
powder. He'd never got it right, but he did produce some impressive
smoke bombs. When a friend asked him to make one for a prank at
college, he did. And this time, got it right. The entire coffee can
lit off and produced a massive flare, and burned out very quickly. Too
bad the can was "aimed" down, or who knows what kind of altitude he's
have reached.
So, "chemical smokes" - gun powder is toxic enough,what with the
sulfur and all - are an option. I' not sure how to use one, house to
house fighting is one idea, but there are "technical" issues to
resolve before that tactic can become useful. "Rifle grenades" with
smoke, toxic smoke, or just a bursting charge could have their place
on a battle field. If you can get range and accuracy down, could be
used to harass, if nothing else.
--
pyotr Filipivich
"Bother," said Pooh, "Eeyore, ready two photon torpedoes and
lock phasers on the Heffalump. Piglet, meet me in transporter
room three. Christopher Robin, you have the bridge." |
