MARVEL SUPERHEROES RANK RESEARCH DATA

Revised Rank Patterns
In the following, “col” indicates the column/rank index, i.e., Sh0=0, Fb=1, Pr=2, etc.
The rank power multiplier is equal to: e^col. Each +1CS increment is: x e^1=2.718.
The rank number is equal to: sqrt(power) = e^(col/2). Each +1CS increment is: x e^(1/2)=1.648 (~1 2/3).
This rank number has been rounded to a convenient number.

The revised rank numbers contain a pattern; at Cl1000 the rank numbers repeat the previous x1000.
In general, +5CS = x10 rank value (x12). +9CS = x100 value (x90). +14CS = x1000 value (x1096).
This pattern can be assumed to extend arbitrarily, and repeat every 14 columns.

MSH generally rounds to 1.5 significant digits (e.g., 2345 rounded to 2500).
Some useful spreadsheet formulas are noted below.
	Round X to 1 significant digit 		= round(x, -trunc(log(x))
	Round X to 1.5 significant digits		= round(x/y,0)*y, where:
											y = 10^trunc(log(x))/2

The “Beyond” rank can be associated with a revised rank of Class 20,000.

Catching
	The speeds of various objects I found from online websites. The speed of falling objects I approximated with the usual falling-object formula (say one story, 8 feet up, ½ second fall, end speed is 16*½ ft/sec). Other sources are listed below.
References
Little league pitchers throwing around 50 mph (73 f/s): http://infosports.net/baseball/arch/1464.htm
Hunting arrow spped at around 220-280 f/s: http://www.timberline-archery.com/arrow_speed.asp
Bullet speed for handguns 300-650 m/s (1000-2000 f/s), rifles around 4000 f/s:
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/MichaelTse.shtml
Laser beams as light, 300,000 km/sec (~1 billion f/s): http://www.what-is-the-speed-of-light.com/

Resources
Personal Income
	I’ve chosen to set the “Typical” income at $20,000 for a number of reasons. (a) It makes for nice round number. (b) I assume the median US income is lower than $30k. (c) It allows the average incomes from more countries to fall into the “Typical” bracket. (d) It makes the “Poor” level closely under the single poverty line.

US average personal income (2000) - $30,000
US poverty level for 1 person (2000) - $8,000 (+$3,000 for each added person)
Canada average personal income (1995) - $25,000
Corporate Income
	Determining typical corporate revenue is a bit harder. Small businesses will likely fall into the “personal” resources scale. Organizations of at least medium company size can use the institutional scale, starting at $10 million annual revenue.

IRS, small business – less than $10 million assets	
IRS, medium-large business – more than $10 million assets	
SBA, small business defined by industry – 
	up to 100, 500 , or 1000 employees; receipts of up to $1m, $6m, $12m, or $25m.
SBA, employee number brackets – up to 20/50/100/500/1000/1500/2500/2500+.
Ireland small company – up to 3m pounds revenue, 50 employees
Ireland medium company – up to 11m pounds revenue, 250 employees
Forbes biggest global companies (2003) by annual revenue --
	(1) Wal-Mart, $246b; (2) GM, $187b; (3) Exxon, $182b; (4) Shell, $179b.

Small business likely 5-100 employees; $10 million to $200 million annual revenues.

EXPENSE RESOURCES
• B2 Stealth Bomber:  $2.2 billion [Class 3000]
• 1990's nuclear aircraft carrier:  $4.5 billion [Class 3000]
• US debt (AD 2000):  $2 trillion [Class 5000]
• DDG-51 Aegis destroyer (1995+):  $750 million [Class 1000]
• T72 (Warsaw pact, 1990) tank: $1.5 million [Shift X]
• Maverick guided missile (1990): $70,000 [Amazing]
	either TV-guided or infrared, 500 lbs.
• Office rents in USA, per square foot, 1994...
	Highest: Washington ($32.43), Boston ($26.30), New York ($25.56)
	Lowest: Houston($13.15), Memphis ($13.21), Louisville ($13.58)
• Average hotel room rates (1994):
	Phoenix ($80.61), Minneapolis ($65.19), New Orleans ($88.42),
	Atlanta ($67.06), Dallas ($66.21)
• Median U.S. home prices (1994):
	Highest: Honolulu ($357,000)
	Lowest: Ocala, Florida ($59,600)
	USA Median: $107,900
	Anaheim, CA ($215,000); Boston ($177,600); Chicago ($141,600);
	Los Angeles ($181,500); New Orleans ($77,800); New York ($168,700); 
	San Fransisco ($254,500); Seattle ($156,400); Washington ($155,800)
	[= Amazing cost in most metropolitan areas,
	   Monstrous in some highly desirable places (such as above)]
• C-130A Hercules transports (1994)
	$2 to $4 million (depending on age, etc.) [Shift X to Shift Y]
	$20 million (new, advanced technological design) [Shift Z]

PERSONAL RESOURCES
• Michael Jackson (peak):  $200 million/ year [Shift Y or Shift Z]
• Shaquile O'Neal:  $17 million/year [Unearthly]
• poverty line, family of 4: $15,000
• Maine Income Distribution, 1994, in thousands:
	- under $12: 33.9% [Shift 0 - Typical]
	- $12-25:    26.8% [Typical - Good]
	- $25-50:    26.4% [Good]
	- $50-100:   11.0% [Excellent]
	- $100-200:   1.4% [Excellent - Remarkable]
	- over $200:  0.5% [Remarkable +]
• Bill Gates (1994): total worth $9 billion
	(? annual revenue  $900 million/year ?) [Shift Z]
• John Elway (NFL highest paid player, 1994): $4.65 million [Mn]
	Drew Bledsoe: $2,032,700 [Amazing]
	(all NFL teams have at least one player making $2 million)
	average NFL player salary, 1994: $532,000 [Incredible]
	average rookie salary: $184,460 [Remarkable]

INSTITUTIONAL RESOURCES (Companies)
• top Fortune 500 companies  100 billion annually (max)
• General Motors (1994) revenue: $155 billion
• Phillip Morris (1994) revenue: $61 billion
• Chrysler corporation, annual revenue (1994): $52 billion
	Net income (1994): $3.4 billion
• Biogen, Inc: $35-$50 billion annual sales (1987-1994)
• General Mills (1994) revenue, $8.4 billion
	consumer foods division (1995) revenue: $5.5 billion
	restaurant division (1995) revenue: $3.2 billion
• combined National Health Laboratories & Roche Holdings
	(largest clinical lab testing firm)
	(1995) revenue: $1.8 billion
• The Sports Authority (USA, 130+ stores, 6600 employees)
	estimated 1994 revenue: $1.1 billion
• NFL teams total player salaries, 1994: $30-34 million

• IBM software business: gross $11 billion per year (1994)
	(world's largest software company)
• Microsoft 1994 revenue: $4.7 billion/year
• Sybase annual (1993) revenue, $427 million
	Powersoft annual (1993) revenue, $57 million
	(7th-largest software maker after buyout in 1994)
• Borland 1990-1994 revenue: $483 to $259 million/year
• Average US computer software company (1994, Price Waterhouse):
	6 employees
	2 products
	$1 million annual revenue

INSTITUTIONAL RESOURCES (Governments)
• Maine State Budget 1994: $1.6 billion
	Debt: $544.7 million
	departments, in millions:
		Education, $859.8; Human Services, $332.1;
		MH & MR, $130.6; Treasury (debt), $80.7;
		Corrections, $68; Admin. & Finance, $130.6
• US 1995 Federal Budget: $1.46 trillion
• US 1995 Defense Budget: $263.8 billion
• US total defense spending: $280 billion (+? $25 billion in 1996)
	(about as much as the rest of the world combined)
	(troops stationed in 75 countries, about 40% of all nations)
• US 1994 GDP: $6.8 trillion (per capita $26,153)
• CIA estimated budget: $3 billion
• Japan defense spending: $40 billion (1994)
• Russian defense spending: $29 billion (1994)
• Iranian defense spending: $1.4 billion (1994)
• North Korea 1994 GDP: $20 billion (per capita $1,000)
	population: 23 million
• South Korea population, 1994: 45 million
• Canadian Gross Domestic Product, 1994: $700 billion
• Fort Knox gold reserves (1994): approximately $59.4 billion

Size (Mass, Enlargement, Diminution, etc.)
• Star Frontiers vessels:
	Fighter (HP8, 25m)(book, 10m); Assault Scout (HP15, 50m);
	Frigate (HP40, 100m); Destroyer (HP50, 130m);
	Minelayer (HP50, 150m); Assault Transport (180-240m);
	Light Cruiser (HP70, 300-380m); Heavy Cruiser (HP80, 450-500m)
	Assault Carrier (HP75, 380-475m); Battleship (HP120, 600m).
	Space Stations (HP 20-300)
• Battletech battlemechs:
	10-100 tons, 10-18 meters tall [Ex, Rm or In mass]
• WWII battleships & aircraft carriers:  25,000-65,000 tons 
	[Shift Z]
• Yamato: 62,500 tons (largest battleship ever built) [Shift Z]
• Supertankers:  100,000 tons [Shift Z]
• Sherman tank: 36 tons [Rm mass]
• Chinese nuclear submarine (1 of 5 in 1994):
	100 meters; 5,000 tons; torpedoes. [Shift X mass]
• A10 Thunderbolt II "Warthog": 53'-4" [Rm - In mass]
	Gao-8 Avenger Cannon, Maverick missiles, Sidewinders, etc.
• M-60 tank: 60 tons [In mass]
	105 mm cannon
	12.7 mm anti-aircraft gun
	7.62 mm machine gun
• CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopter [say In mass]
	length 88 ft. 3 in.
	height 24 ft. 11 in.
	max. range 257 miles
	cruising speed 173 mph
	service ceiling 21,000 ft.
	accomodates 55 troops
• Seawolf nuclear submarine (first completed, 1995)
	353 feet
	over 8,000 tons [Shift Y mass]
	50 torpedoes
	depths over 800 feet

• E-3A Sentry AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System)
	$180 million modified Boeing 707
	146 ft. wing span
	153 ft. overall length
	max. takeoff weight 335,000 lbs. (125,000 lbs. fuel)
		[Am mass (In with no fuel)]
	max. level speed 530 mph
	service ceiling 29,000 ft.
	max. unrefueled endurance more than 11 hours
• F-16C Fighting Falcon
	weight 16,800 lb. empty; 
		6,972 lb. internal fuel; 
		37,500 lb. max takeoff
	max speed Mach 2.1
	ceiling: 50,000 ft.
	length 49'4"; wingspan 31'; height 16'8"
• MiG-27 "Flogger"
	weight 25,000 lb. empty; 
		8,255 lb. internal fuel; 
		44,500 lb. max takeoff
	max speed Mach 1.7
	ceiling: 55,000 ft.
	length 54'10"; wingspan 46'9"; height 14'4"
• MiG-29 "Fulcrum"
	weight 22,500 lb. empty; 
		9,750 lb. internal fuel; 
		41,500 lb. max takeoff
	max speed Mach 2.2
	ceiling: 55,000 ft.
	length 56'5"; wingspan 37'9"; height 14'5"
• MiG-31 "Foxhound"
	weight 47,500 lb. empty; 
		32,005 lb. internal fuel; 
		90,500 lb. max takeoff
	max speed Mach 2.4
	ceiling: 75,000 ft.
	length 72'6"; wingspan 46'; height 18'5"
• AMRAAM AIM-120A (air-to-air missile)
	326 lb.; airspeed >Mach 4; range 30 miles; 9 feet
	rocket motor; fragmentation blast; inertial & radar guided
• DURANDAL (anti-runway bomb)
	430 lb.; solid motor; 250 lb. TNT blast; 7 feet
• HARM AGM-88A (anti-radiation air-to-ground missile)
	796 lb.; airspeed Mach 2; 11.5 mile range; 11 meters
	boost motor; fragmentation warhead; intelligent anti-radiation weapon	
• MAVERICK AGM-650D/E (air-to-ground missile)
	463 lb.; airspeed Mach 1.2; 25 mile range; 6 feet
	solid motor; conical 83 lb. charge; laser tracker, or, imaging infrared seeker
• SIDEWINDER AIM-128A (advanced intercept missile)
	190 lb.; airspeed Mach 2; 11 mile range; 7 feet
	solid motor; 25 lb. annular fragmentation blast; fixed reticle mirror system, also ECCM

Explosives
	The effects of explosives have been interpolated from a site describing the effects of a 1-megaton airburst on a city (2 billion pounds TNT), in terms of range from ground zero. The force of the explosion per square meter has been calculated using the square-meter dropoff rule. This has matched up quite nicely with the MSH material strength specfications. (In the following table, “shaped” indicates actual power applied to a m^2 area, “unshaped” indicates the total power from an origin blast one meter away. If a bomb is itself a shaped charge, this works out to a +2CS advantage in damage.)

													TNT lbs.	TNT lbs.
													per m^2	per m^2
	Range	Destroys				Material		(shaped)	(unshaped)
	2 km	Reinforced concrete		Rm				83			500
	8 km	Brick & timber			Gd				5			30
	15 km	Major house damage	Ty				1.5			10
	25 km	Windows				Fb				0.5			3

	3 km	All persons				~50 points		37			200
	8 km	Half of persons			~25 points		5			30

	Once this is established, we can calculate how much explosive power drops off with distance, using the same square-meter dropoff rule. In terms of outdoor areas (44 yards each), we find that power drops off very quickly from the first area, but then drops off more slowly as distance is further increased. We can assert the following:

-	A one-area blast will do –4CS damage to all in one (outdoor) area.
-	An interior blast will do more damage in one area, likely –2CS damage to all in one area.
-	A triggered antipersonal bomb can do full damage to a single target.
-	Again, a shaped charge can add +1CS or +2CS advantage to a limited direction.
-	A blast will do –8CS damage to everyone one full area away.
-	For larger blasts, consult the “Distance Dropoff” table and look up the given area distance.

	Note that on our normal explosives scale, the starting 1-megaton bomb would be the equivalent of a Class 100,000 explosive device (column #23). Note that a separate “nuclear explosives” scale could be constructed, with each rank power x1000 the associated normal scale (i.e., Sh0 nuke = Class 1000 normal; equivalent to +14CS power.)

References
Effects of a nuclear bomb: http://www.3ammagazine.com/magazine/issue_4/articles/nuclear_bomb_effects.html
Different explosive compounds:
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=explosive
WWI torpedo charges:
http://www.warships1.com/Weapons/WTBR_PreWWII.htm

EXPLOSIVE FORCE
• 100 pounds of explosives: 
	destroy city bus, kill 20(!), injure 48
• 1000-1200 pounds of explosives (car bomb):
	destroy 1/3 of nine-story building (Oklahoma City),
	injure hundreds
• WWII "Blockbuster" bomb: 10 tons of TNT (level city block)
• First Atom Bomb Test: 17,000 tons of TNT (3.5x107 pounds)
	radiation to kill everything in 2/3 mile radius
• Hiroshima Bomb: 20,000 ton of TNT (4.0x107 pounds)
	1 million degrees Farenheit; fires within 2 miles
• First Hydrogen Bomb Test ("Mike"):
	10.4 megatons of TNT (2.8x1010 pounds)
	everything in 3 miles annhialated
	fireball 4 miles across
	mushroom cap 100 miles across

Temperature
NOTES: Absolute Zero = 0 K = -273.15 C = -459.67 F
	Kelvin = Celsius + 273.15
	Farenheit = 9/5 Celsius + 32
	Celsius = 5/9 (Farenheit -32)
	Typical summer day  300K  80 F
• Heart of a Star: 10-20 million K (nuclear fusion)
	(15 million K, 7-35 million K)
• Surface of the Sun: 5,800 K
• Surface Temp: F, G, K, M (2,800-6,600 K)
	O, B, A (9,000-30,000 K)
• Moment of Big Bang: 1010 K
	100 seconds after Big Bang: 109 K
	3 Hours after Big Bang: 108 K