TomMazanec
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2020
- Messages
- 465
This is what I remember as the title, but I must be wrong because Googling gives bupkis.
Fifties or Sixties short story. A chemist develops a superexplosive, but it is very safe...it only detonates if a certain quantity evaporates in a certain sized chamber. For some reason he synthesizes the explosive quantity and stores it in his safe deposit box. Later he mentions this accomplishment to a stranger, who points out that the safe deposit box he used has exactly the needed dimensions. He contacts the authorities and explains that "A thousand tomes of TNT is a kiloton. A thousand kilotons is a megaton. A thousand megatons is a chasmoton, because there is no such word. If you don't open that safe deposit box by such-and-such a time there will be an explosion of 500 million chasmotons." Can't remember why he couldn't open it himself...maybe he lost the key? The authorities waste most of the time hunting down another scientist to confirm that it is not a hoax, then waste most of the remainder because they first have to evacuate the block. When they finally open the box the explosive was "greatly diminished".
Fifties or Sixties short story. A chemist develops a superexplosive, but it is very safe...it only detonates if a certain quantity evaporates in a certain sized chamber. For some reason he synthesizes the explosive quantity and stores it in his safe deposit box. Later he mentions this accomplishment to a stranger, who points out that the safe deposit box he used has exactly the needed dimensions. He contacts the authorities and explains that "A thousand tomes of TNT is a kiloton. A thousand kilotons is a megaton. A thousand megatons is a chasmoton, because there is no such word. If you don't open that safe deposit box by such-and-such a time there will be an explosion of 500 million chasmotons." Can't remember why he couldn't open it himself...maybe he lost the key? The authorities waste most of the time hunting down another scientist to confirm that it is not a hoax, then waste most of the remainder because they first have to evacuate the block. When they finally open the box the explosive was "greatly diminished".
