Title: Sheboygan Press City: Sheboygan, Wisconsin Date: Wednesday, August 02, 1961 Page: 9
Meteor Could Touch Off War III
SAN FRANCISCO (UPI) - World War III could conceivably be touched off by a meteor, mistaken by a panicky nation for a missle, says Space Expert Murray Korahauser. Kornhauser, manager of Gernald Electric's missile and space projects, said precautions against such a disaster should be taken now. Speaking before the opening of the western regional meeting of the American Astronautical Society, Kornhauser said public education about meteoric events and a simple radioactivity test would "effectively dispel this threat to mankind." He said that any meteorite weighing 200 pounds or more would appear "strikingly similar" to a missile. He added that about once every seven years a sizable meteorite falls which "could cause dangerous reactions." He said meteors and missiles are bright, smoky, noisy, have blast waves, and cause seismic waves, fireballs, fall of debris and craters. One sure way to tell the difference, Kornhauser said, is to make a radioactive test. He urged such a test be made before "retaliatory" missiles are launched. "If a large meteorite fell in a populated area," Kornhauser said, "in the ensuing panic there is a high probability of an immediate retaliation that would launch World War III." Please visit, www.MeteoriteArticles.com, a free on-line archive of meteor and meteorite articles. |
