The Fallout If a nuclear fallout were to occur, the earth would turn into a radiated wasteland. The earth would be essentially non-liveable, but it could be possible to survive. People, with the help of fallout shelters and bunkers, would be able to survive the initial attack and quite possibly live in the shelters until the radiation has dropped to a level in which they can survive. Now, the difference between a nuclear explosion and a convention explosion is that a nuclear explosion can be thousands, or even millions of times more powerful than the largest conventional detonations. There are a few different places a nuclear weapon can erupt at. These explosions are called air, high-altitude, underwater, underground, and surface bursts. An explosion labeled as air takes place below 100,000 feet. When an explosion takes place above 100,000 feet, it is labeled as high-altitude. An underwater explosion occurs when a nuclear missile goes off below the water surface. Underground explosions are caused by missiles that are either designed to penetrate the ground or by explosives previously placed under the surface of the earth. Surface bursts hit the ground and go boom. According to atomicarchive.com (Rossenfeld), the nuclear strike will be fifty percent blast energy, thirty-five percent thermal energy, and fifteen percent nuclear radiation. When such a strike happens, the blast will take out everything within a 20.51 mile radius and a 47.88 mile thermal radiation radius, which would cause third-degree burns and firestorms. As the nuclear explosions hit ground zero, the overpressure will do little harm to the human body, but the thermal radiation, will cause deadly burns that can cause skin to tear away. A flash burn is a serious ... ... middle of paper ... ... unlikely, but possible. The effects of radiation from the nuclear attack, could destroy all human life. The world would be turned into a wasteland, making food, water, and shelter hard to come by. Survival would be difficult and, in order for there to be any hope of continuing the species, the human race has to be prepared beforehand. Works Cited "Nuclear Radiation and Fallout Effects." United States Action. N.p.. Web. 7 Apr 2014. . "Nuclear Testing." CTBTO. N.p.. Web. 7 Apr 2014. . Rossenfeld, Carrie . "Effects of Nuclear Weapons." Atomic Archive. N.p.. Web. 7 Apr 2014. .
When one thinks about warfare, the average mental picture is usually a movie war scene with soldiers, and planes; very rarely do people think about about the average Joe, trimming his hedge. In the short story “Grace Period”, by Will Baker, there is a man trimming his hedge outside with an electric hedge trimmer when a nuclear bomb is dropped; his wife has gone to get the mail. In “an instant [he felt as] everything stretched just slightly, a few millimeters, then contracted again” (Baker, 1989, p. 7). Although the character does not know what is happening, the reader may realize that this description is a high altitude nuclear burst. The article “Nuclear Weapon Effects”, by John Pike, describes what a nuclear bomb’s effects are and what could happen if one was dropped. Based on clues in the story and the information from the article, the reader can determine what is happening to the man and what he can expect will happen to him.
Anonymous. "What Happens When a Nuclear Bomb Explodes?" Www.sgi.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
Although nuclear technology can be used for good, it can also be used for destruction. One example of this was the bombing of 2 Japanese cities using the a...
First, is a blinding, 10 million degree, heat flash from a nuclear reaction which can instantly and severely burn the retina if viewed directly. Milliseconds after detonation, an absolutely vaporizing wave of nuclear energy is released: diminishing anything that stands in the way, including humans. following the blast, is a nuclear fallout which sees a continuously rising mushroom cloud begin to spew millions of pounds of cancerous dust which, if consumed, cause tremendous hair loss, cancer consuming the body, and probable death 50-100 days after exposure. Very few are still alive to tell personal stories about witnessing the atom bomb simply because anyone within 1500 kilometers of the initial blast
The nuclear explosion in Chernobyl, Ukraine greatly impacted the environment in negative ways. Shortly after the explosion, other nuclear plants around Europe began noticing high levels of radiation in the air. The radioactive chemicals that were released led to complete devastation of plant life and the poisoning of natural resources. Chernobyl and surrounding areas quickly became too dangerous for people to...
This has been the worst nuclear disaster the whole world has ever witnessed. The explosion at Chernobyl and its harmful effects on public health and to nature could have been avoided, but instead were made possible because of a political system that cultivated secrets and that did not judge useful to prioritize the development of enforceable safety methods to adapt to the operation of nuclear reactors. The long-term effects to humans affected by the radiation of the disaster have not been able to determine with exactitude, not even after more than twenty years. There are many more negative consequences expected to those people affected and people living in those areas where radiation still is present.
Nuclear Fission may be an unknown term to many, but it is right in front of us on the daily, powering our everyday life. This is a reaction which a large nuclei breaks into two similar but smaller nuclei. The Fission reaction releases a mass quantity of energy. The nuclei can naturally start itself into a Fission reaction on its own, but only certain elements can sustain a Fission Reaction Chain ei. (Uranium- 235 & Plutoni...
The debate over if humans can survive a nuclear war or not is an interesting topic. The article, “Let’s Be Clear. There is No Surviving a Nuclear War,” is written by James E. Doyle and Ira Helfand. The article was posted on Newsweek.com on August 20, 2015. This article was written to challenge the argument that people can survive a nuclear war. The authors are hoping that the audience will carry out action to prevent nuclear wars all together. An unfamiliar audience, or an audience who is mildly opposed to their views, are the type of audience that Doyle and Helfand are writing this article for. The main claim of this article is that the devastating
A survivor of this atomic bomb was Michio Hakariya. Michio was at his house when the bomb was dropped, which was 3.8 km away from the hypocenter. He was only eight years old when the event took place. After the bombing he was able to make it to a shelter so not to be exposed to the radiation. Later, after the war had ended Michio decided to become a teacher in a high school for the next thirty six years. Later on he got involved with the Peace Boat Hibakusha Project, this was in the fall of 2009. This is where his story began.
Chernobyl’s nuclear disaster was due to the woefully inadequate design deficiencies of Soviet nuclear plants at the time, the absence of a safety code or practice, and violations of the nuclear plant safety procedures (Safety Nuclear Reactors). The Chernobyl incident wouldn’t have been as bad, but Soviet reactors did not implement containment structures into the reactor designs until after 1980. This left few options to try and contain the leaking radiation. The nuclear plants that are in the US today are much safer than the old plants that were built in the Soviet Union. Safety procedures and containment protocols for radiation are now the norm and many safety measures are now in place. These steps to make nuclear plants safer for everyone are evidenced by the amount of nuclear accidents that have taken place since new safety measures have been put in place. There have only been three nuclear accidents related to power plants since nuclear energy has started being utilized around the globe. Nuclear power plants have been generating electricity for over sixty years and there have only been three incidents related to them. Chernobyl is the only nuclear meltdown to have people die as a result of radiation leaking and radiation
"The tops are leaping off the reactor lip" this was the first warning which the control room received before the destructive explosion in Chernobyl that occurred at 1:23 AM local time. Twenty three minute after the warning in the morning of 26 April 1989, the reactor exploded. The Chernobyl nuclear accident was an unexpected catastrophe that can happen in the history of producing nuclear power. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) defined a nuclear accident as an accident that includes any activities that lead to the release of radioactive material and causes significant consequences. The location of Chernobyl city is in the north of Ukraine near the Belarus border. That nuclear accident happened when in reactor number 4 in the Chernobyl nuclear power in the Soviet Union exploded. Because of that extreme explosion, the radioactive emissions dispensed into the environment and caused immediate deaths, illnesses and many health problems. World Health Association (2013) reports that during the accident, one person died immediately and another one died in the hospital due to the harmful injuries he received. Health World Organization (WHO) (2006) also reports that a few weeks after the disaster 28 people died because of the Acute Radiation Sickness(ARS). The Chernobyl nuclear accident is one of the major disasters in the history of nuclear power which had many serious effects on humans and the environment.
Upon detonation, a near-ground airburst of a 1 kiloton neutron bomb would produce a large blast wave and a powerful pulse of both thermal radiation and ionizing radiation, and non-ionizing radiation in the form of fast neutrons. The thermal pulse would cause third degree burns to unprotected skin out to approximately 500 meters.
The destruction of a nuclear weapon is devastating at the center of the explosion temperatures reach the millions. A strong blast of wind strong enough to knock building flat, strong enough to blast the paint on your car, as for a person goes you will be vaporized instantly by the gamma rays the bomb release. People who survived the blast die in a matter of weeks, this claimed most of the deaths over a period of months. Nuclear bombs have the equivalent energy to 1 million tons of TNT, many of the people who survived received second degree burns due to their clothes burning onto their backs. Cancer soon was diagnosed on many of the survivors. In the first week after the explosion of the atomic bomb used in Nagasaki and Hiroshima most of deaths were related to burns, falling building, rays, wo...
The world’s conflict over nuclear weapons all began with President Truman’s decision to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. World War II was coming to a close but Japan would not surrender. So, on August 6, 1945, the bomb Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima. It was triggered by a gun mechanism where a small piece of uranium-235 was fired down a barrel into a larger piece. This caused an explosion of 15 kilotons, or 15,000 tons of TNT, killing 90,000 to 166,000 people. Surprisingly, Japan did not surrender, so on August 9, 1945, the bomb Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki. It was triggered when shock waves from high explosives set off the plutonium-239 core. It caused an explosion of 20 kilotons, or 20,000 tons of TNT, and killed 60,000 to 80,000 people. This second attack really sent the message to Japan, and they finally surrendered on August 15, 1945. World War II was finally over, but the Cold War began with the reveal of the United States’ nuclear power. It is believed that dropping the bombs saved both Japanese and American lives by ending the w...
The development and usage of the first atomic bombs has caused a change in military, political, and public functionality of the world today. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki revolutionized warfare by killing large masses of civilian population with a single strike. The bombs’ effects from the blast, extreme heat, and radiation left an estimated 140,000 people dead. The bombs created a temporary resolution that lead to another conflict. The Cold War was a political standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States that again created a new worldwide nuclear threat. The destructive potential of nuclear weapons had created a global sweep of fear as to what might happen if these terrible forces where unleashed again. The technology involved in building the first atomic bombs has grown into the creation of nuclear weapons that are potentially 40 times more powerful than the original bombs used. However, a military change in strategy has came to promote nuclear disarmament and prevent the usage of nuclear weapons. The technology of building the atomic bomb has spurred some useful innovations that can be applied through the use of nuclear power. The fear of a potential nuclear attack had been heightened by the media and its release of movies impacting on public opinion and fear of nuclear devastation. The lives lost after the detonation of the atomic bombs have become warning signs that changed global thinking and caused preventative actions.