Nuclear test shockwave
QUESTION WHAT are the white filaments on the sides of the mushroom cloud in a nuclear explosion?
These nearly vertical lines seen in many nuclear test photos are smoke trails from rockets.
A mushroom cloud forms when an explosion creates a bubble of extremely hot air and vaporised weapon residues.
In the case of a nuclear detonation, the bomb emits a blast of x-rays, which ionise and heat the surrounding air. That bubble of gas is known as a fireball.
This rises like a hot-air balloon, pulling air, water vapour and debris into its base to form the mushroom stem.
As the fireball rises, it cools, losing its glow, and the vaporised material and water vapour condense and spread, forming the mushroom head.
In the first few milliseconds after a nuclear detonation, the fireball and shock wave are indistinguishable. however, as the fireball cools, the shock wave continues to expand around it.
During nuclear tests, scientists and engineers wanted to track the progress of the shock wave long after it went beyond the fireball.
They launched smoke rockets well behind the site seconds before detonation. The scientists could analyse the shock waves and wind currents from the explosion by measuring the lateral shift of the smoke trails.
Dr Ken Warren, Glasgow.
QUESTION DOES the U.S. pay Cuba rent for Guantanamo Bay?
The U.S. government has leased Guantanamo Bay from Cuba since 1903, when it was a coaling station, though the cheque has been cashed only once.
Guantanamo Bay Navy Base, better known as Gitmo, is the U.S. Navy’s largest overseas base and the only one in a Communist country. It has facilities for 8,500 Navy personnel and Marines.
It can’t be accessed from Cuban territory and is self-sufficient, producing its own electricity and water, and with branches of McDonald’s, KFC, Subway, Taco Bell, Starbucks and Pizza hut.
There are landing strips on the west and east sides of the entrance to the bay. Further north, the bay is used by the Cubans. entry is restricted by the U.S. and Cuba.
Needless to say, the Cubans would like the U.S. to leave, but the deal can only be terminated by the agreement of both sides, which is highly unlikely.
The lease was originally $2,000 in gold a year. This was reviewed in 1934 when the lease was set at $3,386.25. In 1974, this was increased to $4,085, based on changes in the price of gold.
Payments are sent annually by the American interests section of the Swiss embassy in havana. however, only one lease payment has been accepted since the Cuban Revolution. It is claimed this cheque was cashed by mistake in 1959.
Terry Lane, York.
QUESTION WAS the Bible translated into Anglo-Saxon?
The Bible was not fully translated into Old english, but there are partial translations that were not glosses and were meant to be circulated independently.
A gloss is an annotation written in the margins or within Biblical manuscripts. Priests wrote english glosses into their psalter, or Book of Psalms.
The 7th century herdsman Caedmon is credited with making the first paraphrases of the Scriptures into Old english.
Legend has it that he heard a voice saying: ‘Caedmon, sing something to me.’ When he asked what he should sing, the voice answered: ‘Sing of the beginning of created things.’
Inspired by this experience, Caedmon started paraphrasing portions of the Bible into Old english
The Caedmon manuscript contains poems based on Genesis, exodus and Daniel. The work Christ And Satan is attributed to Caedmon, though the authorship is debated.
The poem based on exodus is a translation that closely paraphrases each phrase from Chapter 12:17 to Chapter 14. Take, for example, the parting of the Red Sea: ‘The sea is cleft asunder; the ebbing
waters spewed up sand. ‘Well I know Almighty God hath showed
you mercy, ye bronze-clad earls. ‘Most haste is best now, that ye may escape the clutch of foes since God hath reared a rampart of the red sea streams. ‘These walls are fairly builded to the roof of heaven, a wondrous wave road.’ St Aldhelm, the first bishop of Sherborne, is regarded as the earliest translator of the Psalms into Old english, as attested by the historian The Venerable Bede, though his work is lost.
Bede taught Latin by using the Vulgate, a 4th century Latin translation of the Bible. We know he sanctioned the use of Biblical gloss in the teaching of monks.
In a letter to Archbishop egbert of York, he recommended that clerics who were ignorant of Latin ought to be taught the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer in english, as he had often done.
Alfred the Great was noted for his learning and skill as a translator. Translations of the first 50 Psalms, Pope Gregory’s Book Of Pastoral Rule, Boethius’s Consolation Of Philosophy and Augustine’s Soliloquies are attributed to him. he is famous for his paraphrase of the Ten Commandments, which he used to preface his own laws.
Aelfric of eynsham is considered the most important Old english translator of the Bible. his great achievement was the heptateuch, which consists of the Pentateuch (Genesis, exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy), Joshua and Judges. he was also author of The Lives Of The Saints, written in english as histories of Christianity.
After the Norman Conquest of 1066, the english language changed radically and previous translations could not be understood. Latin Vulgate versions regained dominance and the Bible became inaccessible as clerics saw danger in the interpretations of the masses.
Mary Hardcourt, Cambridge.
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