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From: vlsi_lib@netcom.com (Gerard Malecki)
Subject: Re: Computers--Next stage in evolution? Hmmmmmm.....
Message-ID: <vlsi_libD4D6MM.Hov@netcom.com>
Reply-To: shankar@vlibs.com
Organization: VLSI Libraries Incorporated
References: <3huofl$ogd@mp.cs.niu.edu> <longrich-1902950047320001@longrich.student.princeton.edu> <Harmon.1779.000BA9A5@psyvax.psy.utexas.edu>
Date: Tue, 21 Feb 1995 19:11:10 GMT
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Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.ai:27659 comp.ai.philosophy:25675 comp.ai.alife:2524

In article <Harmon.1779.000BA9A5@psyvax.psy.utexas.edu> Harmon@psyvax.psy.utexas.edu (Michael G. Harmon) writes:
> longrich@princeton.edu (Nick Longrich) writes:
>
>> Take a look at a comparable event: the Cretaceous-Tertiary
>>impact in the Yucatan. It was about 100,000 times the size of a full-scale
>>nuclear war, at least in megatonnage of explosive power and caused a huge
>>mass extinction.
>>This is, of course, neglecting the effects of radioactive fallout, but I'd
>>guess that once it became well-mized in the atmosphere and ocean, the
>>long-term effect would be a large increase in the mutation rate. 
>
>You'd be wrong.  Full scale detonation in both hemispheres of all currently 
>existing thermo-nuclear devices would release enough radioactivity to 
>completely sterilize all land surface biology.  If all existing nuclear power 
>plants, waste sites, and plutonium refining installations were targeted as 
>well, subsequent release of long-term fallout could completely sterilize the 
>globe.   

I doubt it. Surely, *most* species would be annihilated completely. However
there are many primitive forms of life that can withstand high levels of
radioactivity as well as high mutation rates. In the long run, organisms
that have high fertility rates would be favored since disastrous mutations
would be naturally eliminated without adversely affecting the population
strength. 

Also, most of the highly radioactive products have a sufficiently small
half life that their concentration gets exponentially reduced with time.
Products with long half-lives have lowerr radioactive emissions which
may happen to be only several times the natural background radiation. Most
insects can happily live in those conditions.

Shankar Ramakrishnan
shankar@vlibs.com
