"depleted uranium' I wonder if anyone here can tell me what the word 'depleted' means, especially in this context. For information, 'depleted uranium' is a super dense, very heavy, metal used in anti-armour munitions. It punches through steel better than just about anything else. it does NOT explode! OC
It means some of the radioactivity has been removed from the material. The rest is left in, becomes airborne when the shell explodes and causes cancer among the populace of the place where it punched through the steel.
The projectile does NOT explode!!!!! Have you ever seen what a solid shot does to a series of sheets of steel 4 inches thick? It punches through the first 2, and becomes lodged INTACt in the third. It does NOT explode! And the level of radioactivity in the 'depleted' uranium is LESS than natural uranium in the ground! OC
I somewhat agree about the 'hate' and it was reciprocal. One of Howard's major faults was that he hated Keating with such venom that he 'threw the baby out with the bath water'. If Howard had not worked so hard to dismantle Keating's actual achievements simply to attempt to deny Keating a place in history then Australia would be much better off. As it is the current collection of clowns are in Keating's words " simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up." Another Keatingism says it all: "John Howard turned the prime ministership into something like a state police minister. He's at the scene of every crime, twice a day on radio, the guy did no thinking." and that was the whole problem.
"Another Keatingism says it all: "John Howard turned the prime ministership into something like a state police minister. He's at the scene of every crime, twice a day on radio, the guy did no thinking." and that was the whole problem." Sorry, Julie, but that is just political rhetoric by one man that hated another. There is NO way that komrade paul would say anything good about JWH, after all JWH threw him out on his arse! Defeated pollies are VERY bitter people. Just look at the two komrades malcolm, even komrade john hewson is now a born again socialist. OC
It does get a significant portion of it pulverised into dust though, and although that dust is heavy, strong winds carry it a long way and people breathe it in, and it gradually gets right through peoples homes and cars, schools and commercial buildings.
That would make Cheney the ONLY vice pres that ever had any influence over the President. VPs are notorious for being relegated to committees and acting as figureheads. Professional jealousy i think. Cheney talked, but I very much doubt that Bush listened. Bush had an ego that would not allow it. OC
No, they don't technically explode, they vaporize on impact. If you think depleted uranium is safe, you need to do more research. Perhaps you could use a socialist library, just don't drive there on the socialist roads, you wouldn't want to encourage them.
Jonesy, One last one before i go to bed. Solid shot is the toughest stuff the military can get it hands on, be it superhardened steel, depleted uranium, or titanium. It is NOT meant to fragment, in fact they use it because it does NOT, if it fragmented it would not get through the steel armour. The solid shot projectile I saw was entirely intact, as it was mean to be , it had gone through 2 sheets of 4" steel, and was half way through the third. The thing does NOT explode, it does NOt fragment, no matter what the propagandists tell you. Even the Russians use it! OC
Of course I realise that at a Federal Election, I'm voting for the party, not the leader. Please - I'm not an idiot. But that leader is the person that the party has put forward as THEIR BEST CHANCE of a win. Seriously, when the Libs said they were getting rid of Turnbull and popping in ABBOTT, my jaw hit the floor in suprise. Not Hockey? Not Bishop? Anyway, the point is, at the next election, if I vote for Liberal it means I want someone like Tony Abbott representing Australia as our top bloke. And as much as I actually agree with the traditional Liberal political standpoint (I am all for encouraging and supporting Australian business - large and small - it benefits everyone at the end of the day) there is just a part of me that can't bear to put a tick next to that idiots face. Mind you, I don't want to vote for Julia either - she's proven herself to be a blow-with-the-wind kinda gal, who'll do literally anything to get to the top. Can't abide that quality in a politician. At least Howard would take a stand and stay with it, come what may - and it kills me to give him any credit, because he was a truly evil bastard in the end... leading us into a war we didn't want. Oh god I just hate all politicians these days. Can anyone blame me for voting GREEN? :lol:
We don't have much to choose from in the end, do we? Reminds me of the saying: "A dictatorship is where the population only gets a choice of one leader. A democracy is where the population gets a choice of two".
What happens when a DU round pierces a tank is it doesn't just kill the crew to achieve it's goal it sets all the munitions off inside it (because DU burns very hot on impact).... The tank basically burns to the ground in a ball of molten metal. What that super hot fire does with the DU round is for someone else to argue. I am not sure about gulf 1 but there was bugger all DU used in gulf 2 (if any at all). They didn't need to. The US armor was wiping out Iraqi tanks (that were already dug in to the turrets) before the Iraqi's could get a shot off. Not a single US tank was destroyed by and Iraqi tank. So close direct fire DU munitions would not have been necessary. What the jets didn't take out rocket assisted munitions did from ranges that the old russian T series tanks couldn't engage. I've been there and seen the stock piles of shagged tanks. Get off the DU propaganda it's a beat up. Edit: OC, I doubt a tankie would want to be using titanium sabot on another tank. Giving away your position on the first shot to achieve maybe a paint scratch on the other tank wouldn't be high on a tankies wish list. Perhaps tungsten?
L80, Yes, it was tungston. Yet ANOTHER senior moment of which i have many. ;-) OC PS, If you are a tankie, which I am not, just a military history nut, you will know all about HEAT and HESH etc and the various jobs they do. The interior of a modern tank does not or should not go off like a "Tommy Cooker" anymore. The ammo is in a sealed storage locker and the fuels in separate as much as possible. The crew can be turned into mince meat in a second with a solid shot projectile or molten HESH fragaments bouncing around inside. nasty!
No not a tankie, but know a little about munitions and how to deal with them when they don't go off as designed. The thing about DU rounds are they can penetrate most armor. Once the Sabot round hits and penetrates(often splitering in sharp pieces) it begins to burn red hot. If it can get through armor plate it can get through a storage locker. Not that T72 is considered modern. Hesh and heat rounds are countered with DU Armor and explosive reactive armor. Bar armor/sacrificial plates on the outside also help in providing extra stand off for Monroe effect shape charges (heat) and hesh rounds to be far less effective.
