BOMBS AT BIKINI 



are not of uniform behavior. For each distance of in- 

 terest, it is necessary to compute separately each radia- 

 tion's effectiveness, and then to combine the results 

 to obtain a measure of the total effectiveness. Another 

 important factor is the altitude of the Zeropoint. Ob- 

 viously, if the bomb detonates almost at the surface 

 of the ocean, the radiation will probably enter the ship 

 through the side, and persons well below the waterline 

 may be almost perfectly protected by the intervening- 

 water. But if the bomb detonates directly overhead, 

 the thickness of the decks will be of principal impor- 

 tance. The type of ship, too, makes a difference. Thick- 

 walled battleships must be expected to give far greater 

 protection than thin-walled destroyers. The distribu- 

 tion of the men throughout the ship must be considered 

 too. Persons far below decks may escape relatively 

 lightly even when persons exposed topside receive fatal 

 doses. In a later section the attempt is made to state 

 the over-all effect of nuclear radiation on ships' per- 

 sonnel. 



No one knows what psychic catastrophe the gamma 

 radiation might wreak on the doomed crews. The ra- 

 diation can claim these remorseless attributes : it is 

 invisible, so that no one can see it coming; ordinarj^ 

 walls do not stop it, so that ''no hiding place down 

 here" applies all too fully; medical science knows of 

 no way to save severely exposed persons; and the ra- 

 diation produces no immediately apparent effect, so 

 that overly apprehensive persons entirely out of range 



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