RE: [OT] I need a reality check

Jared Hilal wrote:

> >>Israeli doctors claim to be able to tell how large a blast was and
> >>how close to it a given patient was by looking at damage to lungs
> >>and other organs caused by the pressure.
> >
> >Both the size *and* the distance?
>
>Different sources, so I don't know if it's one or the other, or both
>simultaineously.

OK. The reason I asked was that part of my job is to study the effect
the 
back blast of shoulder-launched support weapons have on the gunner when 
firing from enclosed spaces; lung damage is one such effect I definitely

*don't* want to see but have to watch out for.

(If you attempt to fire a Carl Gustaf indoors, you most likely will hurt

your lungs... at least until we get the CGCS ammo - "Carl Gustaf
Confined 
Space" - into production. Until then, if you absolutely have to fire one
of 
our weapons indoors make sure it is an AT4CS; it is specifically
designed 
for that purpose.)

> >Hm. That's impressive - lung damage
> >depends fairly predictably on the strength (ie., energy density) of
> >the shock wave, but that in turn diminishes with the distance
>
>similar to spherical wave propogation, right?

As long as you're not in some kind of confined space (building, tank, 
narrow alley etc.), yes. If you are in a confined space all bets are off
- 
they can act both as wave traps and as wave guides depending on the
exact 
geometry :-(

Later,

Oerjan
oerjan.ohlson@telia.com

"Life is like a sewer.
  What you get out of it, depends on what you put into it."
-Hen3ry