On 3/30/2019 2:13 AM, Richard Aiken wrote:
>> Mind you, without some sort of confinement, you won't get a "boom".
>> at most a "squib" explosion that would scatter the fuel. More like a
>> quick boil and a radiation flash that could be really bad for
>> equipment and personnel.
>>
> So a short-lived rocket blast. Therefore, maybe mount these rockets on
> pylons that incorporate their fuel lines, so that any wayward blasts don't
> involve the rest of the ship?

	Another bad effect would be a subtler version of the squib explosion. Take a
drop of water/salt. The heat of the decay, even if not going critical,
evaporates the water. So now you have very small crystals of radioactive salt
floating through the air. The decay products can provide enough momentum to
carry them all over the ship. And once ingested, they cause severe radiation
poisoning.

--
         Thomas Jones-Low
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