Friday. May 11. 19SS
MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL THISUKI M1KI
Observers Believe H-Bomb Surface Blasts Cause Earthquakes, Spread More Destruction
By JOSEPH L. MYLER
United Press Correspondent
. , Aboard USS Mt. MeKinley, en
route to Bikini (U.PJ Observers
awaiting the hydrogen bomb
test speculated today that sur
face explosions cause earth
quakes and spread more destruc
tion than airdrops.
These test officials on this ob
server ship lean to this opinion
on the basis of findings from
surface explosions set off at the
nearby Pacific proving grounds
in 1112 and 1954.
The bomb scheduled to be det
onated will be airdropped and
is not expected to cause as much
damage n the ground as its
powerful predecessors.
. In the past military men fig
ured an airburst was the most
efficient way of using nuclear
weapons because it ' subjects a
greater area to shock waves.
Effect Greater
Now it appears the earthquake
effects of surface explosions are
vastly greater than airblasts
which dissipate radioactivity in
the higher parts of the atmos
phere. Earthwaves produced by sur
face blasts are exactly like those
of major temblors, such as the
Meteor Dust Causes Rainfall,
Australian Scientist Declares
By DELOS SMITH
United Press Science Edit '
New York (U.R) Meteor
dust can and does cause rain to
fall on the earth according to
the well-documented theory of
an Australian scientist which is
based on the weather records of
the two hemispheres and five
continents covering up to 100
years.
If the theory is proven out, it
will give weather forecasters
new tool not only for predict
ing rainfall, but also for predict
ing weather conditions general
ly. Clouds do not empty their wet
ness unless they contain some
thing which can serve as nuclei
for the formation of droplets.
These nuclei are dust particles
sucked up into the atmosphere
from the earth's surface. .
But Dr. E. G. Bowen says
they also can be dust from the
showers of meteors which follow
orbits around the sun. The earth
in its orbit periodically . passes
through the orbits of meteor
showers. Each time it does,- me
teor dust rains into its atmos
phere from above.
Wherever in the atmosphere
there are very large cloud for
mations which are relatively free
of droplet-forming nuclei which
originated from the earth,' the
meteor dust serves the same pur
poseand it rains. Since the or
bits and periodicity of meteor
showers are known, the dates
when the earth's atmosphere is
being bombarded with meteor
dust are also known.
The theory is exciting weather
scientists. Bowen made reports
to their professional bodies
through the world, including the
American Meteorological society.
Its implications are vast. For ex
ample, Bowen pointed out: that
the earth's climate changes and
"if meteor showers have a direct
effect on world rainfall, an in
crease or decrease in the amount
of dust in the solar systems
could easily explain the changes
which have occurred."
Heat Release " " - ? - - ..
As for what it would mean, in
forecasting rain releases a
Utah Firing Squad
Executes Two for
Slaying in 1949
;: Point of the Mountain, Utah
(U.R) a double-strength firing
squad executed two Midwestern
layers at dawn today after the
youth asked that "our tragic
lives and ending serve as a warn
ing to all, young and eld.
", The barking rifles of 10 volun
teer marksmen ended a six and
one half year battle by Verne
Alfred Braasch, 27, Reinbeck,
la., and Melvin Leroy Sullivan,
J5, Kansas City, Kan., to escape
death for the October, 1P4, slay
ing of a youthful Utah serviee
station attendant.
In Spotlighted. Chain
: Braasch and Sullivan died
seated in spotlighted chairs in
a shed in the outer yard of Utah's
Point of the Mountain Prison.
Deputy Sheriff Charles Wells
gave the firing order for the
state's first double firing squad
execution at 9:14 a.m. (MST).
As Wells' hat dropped in sig
nal, the riflemen fired ' from
standing and kneeling positions
behind the window of a prison
building 25 feet from the slayers.
Eight of the rifles, containing 30
caliber bullets, carried the death
message. Two, none knew which,
were loaded with blanks
Sullivan was pronounced, dead
at 5:15 ajn.; Braasch at 5:1s"
ajn.
Both Men Hooded
When the two men eame into
the yard, they already had been
hooded with black cloths that
draped . over their heads and
chest.
Round white targets had been
fixed over the black hoods' to
mark their hearts. The eight bul
lets punched closely grouped
patterns on the targets, although
the shots that killed Braasch
seemed to be centered on the
west portion of the cloth,
v About 100 witnesses ware
present They included lew offi
cers, newsmen and Joseph A.
. Manzione, Beacher, Utah, ths
father of Howard Mansions, the
slayers' victim.
poison
great amount of heat from the at
mosphere. One inch of rain is
aid to equal, in heat, three days
of sunshine. "If this were to oc
cur simultaneously at a number
of points over . the globe, it is
possible that the whole circula
tion pattern would be affected,"
he said. If meteor dust sets off
rain simultaneously in many
places over the world, meteor
dust then would be a very pow
erful maker of the earth's weather.
leveled San Fran- length and width. Its estimated I of as little as two inches would deputy commander on the task
ones which
CISCO.
For example, earthwaves cre
ated by the world"s first hydro
gen explosion at Eniwetok on
Nov. 1, 1952, made a seismo
graph needle jump 15 minutes
later at Berkeley, Calif., about
4500 miles away.
It is not news that nuclear
explosions can create earthquake
effects. But it is being realized
only now that hydrogen bomb
blasts equivalent to the explo
sions of many millions of tons
of TNT magnify the area of de
struction. Newsmen observing the H
bomb surface shot of March X,
1954, saw what the earthwaves
did to a massive reinforced con
crete bunker on Bikini's Yurochi
Island, which was located sev
eral miles from ground zero.
Heavy Bunker Moved
This bunker was at least 40
feet high and even larger in
weight was about 100.000 tons.
But it moved a foot or two
shortly after the blast.
An equally massive bunker on
Enyu Island moved two or three
inches in the 1954 blast, even
though the structure was 20
miles away.
Civil Defense officials trained
in damage effects said movement
be far enough to collapse stur
dily constructed two-story brick
houses, killing all of their occu
pants. They said the same bomb fired
high in the air to get maximum
area coverage would cause that
much damage at no more than
12 to 14 miles.
Dr. William E. Ogle, scientific
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Service Director H. R. Miller, 2762 Corbns Avenue, Medford
force engaged in today's opera
tion, said the earth shock creat
ed by the ground explosion of
1954 created not a minor but a
big earthquake.
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