Anti-flash paint: The House in the Middle

[Weaver]

People are generally cynical about the value of the white anti-flash paint applied to V-Force bombers, but have a look at this film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrYjVv9SyMQ

Okay it might be hilariously hokey, but the basic point is valid: a coat of white paint DOES make a difference.

[scooter]

a coat of white paint DOES make a difference.

Yes it does.  Which is why the roof of the bus is getting painted white down to the rain gutters and fore and aft end caps.

[Nick]

Scooter, they did that to the tops of London buses a few years back to help cool things down in the summer. New buses also have insulation panels in the roof and upper deck cooling systems (aka fans!).
https://www.tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2013/july/reissue-tfl-announces-beat-the-heat-plan-for-summer-2013

At the same time they painted ID numbers on the roofs so they can be identified via CCTV or helicopters.

[scooter]

Scooter, they did that to the tops of London buses a few years back to help cool things down in the summer. New buses also have insulation panels in the roof and upper deck cooling systems (aka fans!).
https://www.tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2013/july/reissue-tfl-announces-beat-the-heat-plan-for-summer-2013

At the same time they painted ID numbers on the roofs so they can be identified via CCTV or helicopters.

Newer school buses, and older ones in the Deep South/Southwest, have their roofs painted white as well for that reason.  Mind you, the insulation is scheiße fibreglass, but it is better than nothing (and getting replaced with rigid foamboard in mine)

[kerick]

I've been tempted to paint the roof of my car white in the summer. The wife would have a fit.

[rickshaw]

People are generally cynical about the value of the white anti-flash paint applied to V-Force bombers, but have a look at this film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrYjVv9SyMQ

Okay it might be hilariously hokey, but the basic point is valid: a coat of white paint DOES make a difference.

It may but nothing protects against radiation or fall out... 

[Weaver]

People are generally cynical about the value of the white anti-flash paint applied to V-Force bombers, but have a look at this film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrYjVv9SyMQ

Okay it might be hilariously hokey, but the basic point is valid: a coat of white paint DOES make a difference.

It may but nothing protects against radiation or fall out...  

Fair comment, although the amount of fall-out after a nuclear attack is very dependent on whether the explosion(s) are air-bursts or ground bursts. Neither Hiroshima nor Nagasaki have proved "uninhabitable for generations" as popular perceptions would have it, because both those weapons were air bursts which created relatively little fallout.

In the context of a V-Bomber, the gamma ray burst would certainly cause severe ill effects to the crew, but those would take hours or days to take effect and they'd run out of fuel, having succeeded or failed in their mission, long before that.

[rickshaw]

People are generally cynical about the value of the white anti-flash paint applied to V-Force bombers, but have a look at this film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrYjVv9SyMQ

Okay it might be hilariously hokey, but the basic point is valid: a coat of white paint DOES make a difference.

It may but nothing protects against radiation or fall out... 

Fair comment, although the amount of fall-out after a nuclear attack is very dependent on whether the explosion(s) are air-bursts or gorund bursts. Neither Hiroshima nor Nagasaki have proved "uninhabitable for generations" as popular perceptions would have it, because both those weapons were air bursts which created relatively little fallout.

There is also the difference between a nuclear and a thermonuclear weapon.   Thermonuclear weapons manufacture much greater quantities of fallout because they suck the earth's surface up into their firecloud and spew it out, downwind, made radioactive.  It was estimated that the Soviets only needed to use 12 medium capacity H-Bombs to render the UK uninhabitable, by exploding them along the East Coast, throwing fallout over the rest of the British Isles.

In the context of a V-Bomber, the gamma ray burst would certainly cause severe ill effects to the crew, but those would take hours or days to take effect and they'd run out of fuel, having succeeded or failed in their mission, long before that.

"Fly East young man, eject over Mongolia and find yourself a nice woman and settle down" was the advice usually given to V-Bomber crews, as a Soviet nuclear attack on their bases, rimmed with Married quarters would have killed all their families and friends...   

[Go4fun]

A cousin and I had a hell of a debate about the use of white paint in race cars. He said it was harder to keep clean and had no effect on heat build up when used on the interior floor or firewall in the engine compartment. So I painted those portions flat black on his racer while mine got a coat of a very glossy light grey paint. I used this paint everywhere that wasn't covered by the exterior color.
After a 50 lap Feature race at the local 1/2 mile dirt track he came out sweat soaked and panting like a dog. I came out much more comfortable and said "That was fun! Let's do it again"!*  History repeated itself when me and #2 son got into the same argument about light colored cars versus dark cars and how hot they got inside due to the suns effect.

*It might also have been the fact he drank beer all day while I was drinking nice cool water. Or that he weighed 235 pounds to my toned 195.

[Weaver]

People are generally cynical about the value of the white anti-flash paint applied to V-Force bombers, but have a look at this film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrYjVv9SyMQ

Okay it might be hilariously hokey, but the basic point is valid: a coat of white paint DOES make a difference.

It may but nothing protects against radiation or fall out...  

Fair comment, although the amount of fall-out after a nuclear attack is very dependent on whether the explosion(s) are air-bursts or gorund bursts. Neither Hiroshima nor Nagasaki have proved "uninhabitable for generations" as popular perceptions would have it, because both those weapons were air bursts which created relatively little fallout.

There is also the difference between a nuclear and a thermonuclear weapon.   Thermonuclear weapons manufacture much greater quantities of fallout because they suck the earth's surface up into their firecloud and spew it out, downwind, made radioactive.  It was estimated that the Soviets only needed to use 12 medium capacity H-Bombs to render the UK uninhabitable, by exploding them along the East Coast, throwing fallout over the rest of the British Isles.

Well prevailing winds here are from the west, but the principle is quite right. If it produces a mushroom cloud there will be some fallout (that's what the cloud is) but it's a matter of degree.

The Imperial War Museum in Manchester (40 miles from the west coast) has a nuclear bomb, with a chart behind it showing effect zones if it exploded right there. From memory, the first six zones are "100% dead" with timescales from hours to months, and the furthest zones, with substantial fatalities, reach Hull on the opposite coast. Big bomb, right? Well actually, no: it's a WE.177B tac nuke with a 600kt yield. A dozen 2-4mt weapons and we're gone...  

[scooter]

For "fun" and to see "reality", this link is a Google Maps api that allows you to punch in location, yield, burst, etc.

[Weaver]

For "fun" and to see "reality", this link is a Google Maps api that allows you to punch in location, yield, burst, etc.

Pretty much confirms what the map in the IWM says, although it's wind model is somewhat more complex. Also confirms that if you optimise the airburst height to give the biggest 5psi overpressure radius, you get virtually no fallout, even with seriously big bombs.

[PR19_Kit]

  It was estimated that the Soviets only needed to use 12 medium capacity H-Bombs to render the UK uninhabitable, by exploding them along the East Coast, throwing fallout over the rest of the British Isles.

When the prevailing winds are from the southwest? 

[rickshaw]

  It was estimated that the Soviets only needed to use 12 medium capacity H-Bombs to render the UK uninhabitable, by exploding them along the East Coast, throwing fallout over the rest of the British Isles.

When the prevailing winds are from the southwest? 

Put one in the Bristol Channel and it still counts as being "on the East Coast", Kit.   

[zenrat]

People are generally cynical about the value of the white anti-flash paint applied to V-Force bombers, but have a look at this film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrYjVv9SyMQ

Okay it might be hilariously hokey, but the basic point is valid: a coat of white paint DOES make a difference.

Did the man in the baseball hat poking around after the tests survive?

As we all know from Indiana Jones the only surefire way to survive is to live in a fridge.
Hmmmm, I feel a build coming on.  TSR2 painted appliance white with very small and subtle SMEG decals?

This one is fascinating https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLCF7vPanrY