Various

["Marsee Skidmore" <heyred@email.msn.com>]

> Sign me up for "All Metric."

> Explosive bolts aren't such a bad idea. Spacemen use them because they're
very reliable. They can throw a lot of shrapnel, but water is a good
projectile absorber. The bigger worry is the shock wave that can buckle an
otherwise happy pressure vessel. Still, if they're far enough away from the
pressure hull, and the alternative is slow death by asphyxiation, they may
be just the ticket. Explosive actuated cutters avoid the difficulties of
shrapnel and shock. I haven't the foggiest clue where Regular Guys can buy
Explosive bolts or cutters.

> Regarding pressure testing, one can avoid big noises, damaged test tanks
and dead SCUBA divers by filling the pressure vessel under test with liquid.
That's almost, but not quite full. The energy of the (potential) implosion
is a function of the compressible volume.

> Ray, the movie you remember was about an incident involving the
Johnson-Sea-Link. I think Lee J. Cobb played Edwin Link. The JSL was a lot
more bare bones than it is today, but a tubular "anti-entanglement"
structure had been built around it. The boat brushed a snagged fishing net,
and one of the tubes was snagged by a snap hook. So much for safety devices.
Mr. Link's son died.

:-o Joe