I have a question about nuclear weapons. Anyone here know much about them?

[PamW]

58. OFF is OFF

Could you explain "The missiles and their autopilots are OFF!!", I am not doubting you, I don't really understand what you mean and I really don't have a clue, I am just going by what I have heard my whole life and as recent as 2010.
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First, a lot of people have been telling you things all your life that are self-serving. They are attempting to convince you that missiles are on a "hair-trigger" and the slightest mistake will result in a launch that can't be recalled. They are attempting to scare you.

What I mean by "OFF" is "OFF". The missile is targeted by putting the geometric coordinates - like latitude and longitude - of the target in the memory of the autopilot's computer. Knowing that position is how the autopilot knows where to steer the missile.

What I'm telling you is the autopilot and its computer are OFF. There's no "target coordinates" loaded in a computer that is OFF. Just like when your computer is off, how would you answer the question if I asked, "What website is your computer's web browser looking at when it is OFF".

The question is meaningless!! When the computer is off, nothing is running. The web browser is not running. Therefore, the web browser isn't looking at a particular web site. It's just flat out not running.

Same with the missile. There's no "target" loaded into the missile if the autopilot computer is OFF.

It's only during the launch sequence that the missile is told where to go.

The missile is not like a gun in that it is "pointing" somewhere. Think of an airliner sitting at the gate. Is that airliner "pointed" somewhere?

NO - the only way the airliner knows where to go is when you get a pilot onboard that enters the destination into the auto-pilot. But until then, it's a meaningless question to ask where the airliner is targeted.

You have to realize that a lot of people have been BS-ing you about this because they want to scare you, and make you join them in countering some imminent danger that really doesn't exist.

PamW