Nuclear weapons are all over this world, and every country and creature is at risk. So i decided to answer a few common questions about Nuclear weapons in today's terms.
- What is a nuclear bomb?
- Who has the bombs?
- Who is at highest risk for being bombed?
- What actually happens when you are bombed?
- How many would it take to turn us all to the stone age? or worse...?
What is a nuclear bomb?
In a nutshell, it is a bomb that has a blast powered by nuclear fission, or a combination of fission and fusion.
The bombs weigh in on average around 2 tons. Inside this 2 ton warhead is an unfortunately simple yet precise sequence of easily achievable events that cause a huge chain reaction leading to explosions on a cataclysmic scale.
The bomb involves a detonation of plutonium to split apart release a massive amount of energy in an instant. This energy shoots into the second part of the devise that houses Uranium and Lithium. A reaction is initiated and as this feeds larger and larger (in an instant) a thermonuclear fireball is the outcome.
Who has the bombs?
For conventionally large bombs (meaning all except Nuclear Warheads) there are 18 countries (excluding the nuclear countries) that have ballistic missiles – a high speed long range missile that are about 2 kilotons ( 1:7th the power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima). 17 of the countries have ballistic missiles that range between 50 and 500 miles. They are as follows: Afghanistan, Armenia, Bahrain, Belarus, Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Libya, Slovakia, South Korea, Syria, Taiwan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and United Arab Emirates. The 18th is Saudi Arabia with a range of 1,600 miles.
There are officially 10 countries that pose a Nuclear Threat. 8 have confirmed stockpiles, 2 of them being operational, 1 has confirmed ability, but unknown stockpile, and 1 is in development. They are as follows: Russia and US each have 5,000+ operational Nuclear Warheads, and together over 20,000 in stock. France 350, China 200, U.K. 200, Israel 80, Pakistan 60, India 50, Korea has the capability and a suspected stockpile of 1-10. Iran is working hard on a nuclear program that is quite developed, and this is becoming a very big issue.
- Who is at highest risk for being bombed?
As far as those at risk of being hit with a true Nuclear warhead goes; the top 10 countries with the highest risk are those 10 that are capable of it. Currently China has pointed more missiles towards us, and we have been pointing at Russia (and them at us) since the end of the cold war over 18 years ago!
China, Russia, France, U.K., and the US all have what is called a “Global Reach.” This means with their land, air, and sea abilities they can hit any country in the world with a Nuclear Bomb.
From launch to explosion it would take anywhere from 10-30 minutes, depending where on the planet the bomb was launched.
- What actually happens when you are bombed?
And
- How many would it take to turn us all to the Stone Age? Or worse...?
I’ll start off answering the question by answering another question you may have: how many nuclear bombs would it take to destroy the world? The answer is a several part question. Let me explain: The bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima was old school compared to the warheads of today. It would take 30,000 Hiroshima equivalent warheads to cause an “Armageddon.” With that in mind, the record holder is much larger. It would take the equivalent of 3,000 bombs to be detonated in 1 area to destroy 95% of life on Earth.
With today’s most advanced thermonuclear warheads, the hydrogen bombs, it would take 100 spread out over 10 million square miles (the us is a little over 3 million) to also destroy 95% of life on Earth. This is because of the Radioactive Fallout Effect.
Lets say the largest bomb lands in the middle of Sioux City… Everyone within ½ mile of the explosion will be gone (inside or outside, for the bomb cause a crater, killing anyone in a bomb shelter within ½ of the balst). Within 3 ½ miles of the blast, 99% will die within the first few hours.
After 48 hours: 90% of everyone within 10 miles will die, 50% in the 10-20 mile range will die, and 50% within 40 miles (downwind) will suffer heavy radiation sickness leading to 75% dying within a few months. 1 in 75 people within 125 miles of the blast will suffer significant to mild radiation sickness (depending on the winds).
Survivors within the 20 mile range will suffer from the following: Hair loss, Eye damage, lymph tissue damage, massive white blood cell loss, significant bone marrow damage, and ulcerated organs. Anyone within the 40 mile range will have a 2-10 times more likely for Thyroid, Breast, and Leukemia cancers. Anyone in the 125 mile range will still be at double to triple the risk for all sorts of diseases and cancers.
There are plans to reduce the number of warheads for both the US and Russia to between 1,700 and 2,200. I guess that’s a start.
Quote from a Hiroshima survivor "One after another they were almost unrecognizable. The skin was hanging from their hands, from their chins; their faces were red and so swollen that you could hardly tell where their eyes and mouths were."
Good movies involving a nuclear apocalypse threat or aftermath that you may enjoy include: The Day After, The Postman, Mad Max 2, and War Games.
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