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I voted yes because I think Iran will eventually get nukes (or make their own), and I fully expect a nuclear war to start between Israel and Iran et al, with many of the rest of us being dragged into it. Then all those who are looking forward to the 'end times' etc will get their wish, but there will be no gods to save them. The rest of us will be collateral damage.
I'd have to agree with you catman...while I don't believe we will completely destroy ourselves...we will be completely devastated and there will be a very dark age.
Global thermonuclear war or some bioweapon runs rampant and kills eeeeeeeverything that has nerves on the planet. Gotcha! I'm hip to the concept now.
I don't know if it's true or not...but when I was a kid in primary school, it was said that the first time they detonated the atom bomb they weren't 100% sure that it wouldn't cause a chain reaction and blow up the whole world...or I guess the whole universe. I don't know the mechanics of how they work to know if that could have been a realistic fear, or just a story. But I remember that was the buzz. Wild!
You got that one right. I worked in a uranium factory at Oak Ridge, TN. for 41 years. A few of those associated with the team when they detonated the test shot in the desert, project Trinity, believed the minute amounts of hydrogen and various other compounds in the atmosphere might become a part of the chain reaction and ignite the planet.
From the early days till 1964 at the plant where I worked(K-25), the uranium 235 isotope at an assay of about 97% was withdrawn in 30" long cylinders, five inches in diameter. They had a special truck to transport them. The metal bases in the bed of the truck were spaced far enough apart that if multiple cylinders were being transported they met "Always Safe" specifications. One might consider a five inch in diameter cylinder continuing to infinity and that is small enough that it would never go critical unless other fissionable material was close to it. There are also certain geometric dimensions for spheres, cubes and other shapes which are also always safe but it's been too many years plus the fact that we never saw them...for me to remember.
Last edited by Melvin.George; 07-31-2010 at 06:33 AM..
The good part is that most of the rest of the world is way beyond the US in putting away the Christian religion. After that the Muslim faith is a no brainer. As soon as the next couple of generations hear ample contradiction to their brainwashing if nothing else they will become ashamed of their worship of ancient gods devised by primitive mankind for his own selfish indulgence. There is no invisible man in the sky!
You're right. God is not in the sky. He is all around us.
Don't worry, God believes in you, and there's nothing you can do about it.
How could "the greed and thirst for power of men" ever result in ANYTHING that could "destroy mankind"?
All men can do...to further that for ANY reason...is to fight with each other. In those situations the winning side usually has some people left. Wars don't wipe out BOTH sides...not COMPLETELY anyway.
What "greed and power thirst" would compel any group to hunt down (even to the remote portions of the planet) and kill...in whatever way they would do it...over 6 BILLION people...THEN fight among themselves until THEY are all dead too?
Is this not just the ultimate "religion slam" thread?...To make the preposterous suggestion that religion is soooooo evil that it could actually cause the extinction of mankind?
Yeah...nothing else could...but "believing in religion" will. ROFL!!
Actually, this just shows that the intolerance, prejudice, bias, and hate of the OP has caused him to take leave of logic and reason.
Yea. We all know that WW1 and WW2 were religious wars!
You got that one right. I worked in a uranium factory at Oak Ridge, TN. for 41 years. A few of those associated with the team when they detonated the test shot in the desert, project Trinity, believed the minute amounts of hydrogen and various other compounds in the atmosphere might become a part of the chain reaction.
From the early days till 1964 the uranium isotope at an assay of about 97% was withdrawn in 30" cylinders, five inches in diameter at the plant where I worked(K-25). They had a special truck to transport them. The metal bases were spaced far enough apart that if multiple cylinders were being transported they met "Always Safe" specifications. One might consider a five inch diameter cylinder to infinity and that is small enough that it would never go critical unless other fissionable material was close to it. There are also certain geometric dimensions for spheres and other shapes which are also always safe but it's been too many years for me to remember.
OMG!! It's true?!! That's craaaaaaaazy Mel! So, they really DID think they might blow up the whole world! Well, I guess they figured they wouldn't have to deal with anyone giving them grief about it afterward, that's for sure. LOL!
41 years, huh?...first thing that came to my mind as a businessman--Now THAT'S a reliable Dude.
OMG!! It's true?!! That's craaaaaaaazy Mel! So, they really DID think they might blow up the whole world! Well, I guess they figured they wouldn't have to deal with anyone giving them grief about it afterward, that's for sure. LOL!
41 years, huh?...first thing that came to my mind as a businessman--Now THAT'S a reliable Dude.
Began working there Oct. 1, 1952, five days after my 18th B'day and they immediately started me in a special school for process operators. We went to classes 40 hours for one week then visited a new process area of the plant, on rotating shift, for three weeks then back to the classroom. This continued for 27 months. I was fluent in discussions of gas flow, electro-pneumatic instrumentation, cold trapping techniques, how to process materials inside a vacuum, process coolants, anything one might ever want to know about uranium and other cascade materials etc. Other than my high school...that was my education. In 1961 I transferred to their data processing center and for 33 years worked with mainframe computers. When I retired September 30, 1993 I had managed computer operations there for 25 years.
Began working there Oct. 1, 1952, five days after my 18th B'day and they immediately started me in a special school for process operators. We went to classes 40 hours for one week then visited a new process area of the plant, on rotating shift, for three weeks then back to the classroom. This continued for 27 months. I was fluent in discussions of gas flow, electro-pneumatic instrumentation, cold trapping techniques, how to process materials inside a vacuum, process coolants, anything one might ever want to know about uranium and other cascade materials etc. Other than my high school...that was my education. In 1961 I transferred to their data processing center and for 33 years worked with mainframe computers. When I retired September 30, 1993 I had managed computer operations there for 25 years.
Sounds like you were in on the cutting edge of some interesting things. What were the computers like back then? You've seen the full evolution of a revolutionary technology from the inside. Cool!
From a company standpoint that's the best thing...get someone young, and keep them for life. Your story is the ultimate example of that. Not too many people put in a whole lifetime at one place. I bet they missed you. Hard to replace a guy that would know what you get to know after 40+ years.
Come to think of it...the best homemade way to wipe out the human race...would be with something that puts out a lot of radioactive fallout. Only this board would have something that would prompt me to contemplate that. LOL!
Sounds like you were in on the cutting edge of some interesting things. What were the computers like back then? You've seen the full evolution of a revolutionary technology from the inside. Cool!
From a company standpoint that's the best thing...get someone young, and keep them for life. Your story is the ultimate example of that. Not too many people put in a whole lifetime at one place. I bet they missed you. Hard to replace a guy that would know what you get to know after 40+ years.
Come to think of it...the best homemade way to wipe out the human race...would be with something that puts out a lot of radioactive fallout. Only this board would have something that would prompt me to contemplate that. LOL!
As a matter of fact a reasonably young woman with a masters in computer sciences who was the division head tried to get me to stay. I was just 59 years old. She offered me a good position as a computer security manager but I had simply burned out.
The state-of-the-art mainframe computer in 1961 was the IBM 7090. It had about 180K of memory and was cooled with a bath of motor oil. Think of that...a two million dollar computer that required bi annual oil changes
As a matter of fact a reasonably young woman with a masters in computer sciences who was the division head tried to get me to stay. I was just 59 years old. She offered me a good position as a computer security manager but I had simply burned out.
The state-of-the-art mainframe computer in 1961 was the IBM 7090. It had about 180K of memory and was cooled with a bath of motor oil. Think of that...a two million dollar computer that required bi annual oil changes
I think they made them at the IBM plant here in upstate New York...half way in between my house and my club. They are the #1 employer around here.
You know...the only way that kind of scenario might ever come to be is if the powers of the world are foolish enough to let terrorists get their hands on nukes.
Ummm, they already have. USA and UK for example.
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