Re: Airplane crash

[Schoenhofer <schoenho@via.at>]

At 10:52 25.02.97 -0600, you wrote:
>  I am trying to locate information about the crash of a nuclear powered
>airplane that occurred in the mid '50s and the estimated dose to a person
>that was involved (this is not sci-fi).  Any help you can provide will be
>appreciated.
>  About 1954 (not sure of exact date), a Northrop Wing, powered by what
>was probably a GE reactor designed for a Nautilus class sub, lost power on
>takeoff from what is now Langley Field.  ..............................


I sure am no specialist on that question, but I remember a textbook from
around 1970, which posed many physico-chemical questions to be calculated.
One of the questions was, whether a nuclear reactor was suitable to power an
aeroplane. I do not now, how to calculate this and to be honest I did not
know then how to do it, but I remember very well the result. It was stated
that this was impossible, even without any shielding. I remember this so
well, because this was also my feeling. So this textbook was written about
15 years later than the suspected incident is said to have happened.

Are you sure that this was not a large radiation source which was carried on
a normal powered plane in a shielding?

Franz
Schoenhofer
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