http://www.islandone.org/Propulsion/ProjectOrion.html
It seems like a great idea for interplanetary/interstellar travel, but
kind of a noisy, dirty way to leave the Earth.
John
On Fri, 13 Aug 1999, Eugene Leitl wrote:
> Robert S. Thau writes:
>
> > Hmmm... serious people thought Orion (nuclear rockets propelled by
> > bombs exploded under their tails) could be made to work; was that
> > because the shield itself was expected to liquefy, but to shield the
> > rest of the structure from the worst of the effects?
>
> There is no attenuation in vacuum, so a nearby nuke exploding
> evaporates a surface layer, which drives the structure in opposite
> direction (actio!=reactio).
>
> Everything in the atmosphere is different.
>