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Nuclear Winter
| Fallout is a grim and long lasting feature of ground burst atomic munitions. Essentially, fallout is the irradiated dust and debris particles resulting from a nuclear blast. The half life of these particles can range from an hour, to a week, to many years depending on the intensity of the blast. All radiation is toxic in varying degrees and doses. The mixture of radioactive elements formed in a nuclear explosion is so complex, with both short- and long-lasting isotopes, that radioactive decay can only be estimated. During the first hour after a nuclear explosion, radioactivity levels drop precipitously. Radioactivity levels are further reduced by about 90% after another 7 hours and by about 99% after 2 days. That is for short term radioactive material. Long term, such as Plutonium, is a different matter. For more information, see here... The immediate threat is direct exposure to skin from rainfall and dust particles riding on low breezes. The result is external radiation burns and ARS (Acute Radiation Syndrome). In Jericho, the direct exposure from the rainfall was addressed by seeking shelter. It appears that all Jericho citizens save Stanley Richmond were not directly exposed to the radioactive rainfall. Precipitation clears the irradiated particles from the air, but that is not the end of the problem. As things dry up, normal, every day dust is kicked up as well. Much of that will carry the contaminants. You breath them in, they embed in your lung tissue. Depending on the level of exposure, this can result in death from radiation poisoning in a number of hours or days or can lead to long term health risks such as cancer and leukemia. The solution to the radioactive particles on the ground is by removing the top 18 inches of soil and disposing of them in an isolated and safe area. The definition of an "isolated and safe area" is subject to debate, and while some suggest burying the radioactive material underneath a mountain, others suggest disposal in the ocean (salt water is an excellent buffer of radiation). However, these solutions are environmentally controversial. Note: Nuclear fallout particles will not "re-evaporate" from water sources. They are heavier than water and will sink. | |
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Keyword tags:
Attacks
bombs
Jericho
nuclear
Radioactive
radioactivity
winter
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | |
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| Anonymous | Whoa slow down there | 1 | Mar 28 2008, 2:23 PM EDT by Six-Actual | |
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Thread started: Dec 23 2006, 9:45 AM EST
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OK Lets start basic here.
The smaller a device is the less it damages everything. Anyone disagree? No? Good Now fall out is going to happen with any device of this class. How much depends on size. How bad depends on how close to the ground. And what kind of ground. Anyone that tells you that 10 20KT bombs will kick off a "Nuclear Winter" is completely ignorant of what a Nuclear Winter is let alone what it would take to create one. The bomb that was dropped on the bikini islands had more explosive force then all of these bombs combined. Why did we not have a "Nuclear Winter" then? Get over it! Yes fallout can be dangerous, and yes it would suck to be in the range of ANY fallout. But the end of the world? Heck no. Even if you were in a fallout zone you would have to ride it out say two months tops and then it would be safe to get out of the area. The radiation levels would have subsided to a less then lethal level by then. BTW those numbers are based on crowd pleasers of 20MT not tactical nukes. It is entirely possible that tactical nukes would not even be noticed on the larger scale of things. Have you ever been to a location where a nuke has gone off? I have. I stood outside and walked all around it. And when I got back my dosimeter registered NOTHING. Now I grant you that it was the first atomic blast ever but less then 60 years later all effects are gone. To much public education. |
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| Anonymous | Nuclear Bomb Fallout: The essentials... | 1 | Mar 25 2008, 7:55 PM EDT by carmeniris | |
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Thread started: Dec 8 2006, 6:53 AM EST
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Basically, you have so many variables when it comes to radioactive exposure, that it is usually easier to follow the basic rules.
ALARA. This acronym is used in the Nuclear industry to represent the following: "As Low As Reasonably Achievable" This means that there is no "Safe" level of radiation. The less you get, the better your chances that you will not have undesiirable effects. then, you have: Time, Distance and Shielding Time: Limit the amount of time near or around radioactive materials Distance: Each time your double the distance from a radioactive source, you drop your expsure down to only 1/4 of original exposure. Shielding: Dense materials such as lead or tungsten can reduce exposure to most radiation. Alpha and Beta particles can be shielded with a sheet of paper to a piece of aluminum foil. Note, some shielding can actually increase your exposure. ok, thats enough from me. |
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| Anonymous | From a scientist (page: 1 2 3) | 44 | Aug 27 2007, 3:16 PM EDT by genpatton43 | |
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Thread started: Nov 30 2006, 4:15 AM EST
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The theory of "Nuclear Winter" was discredited years ago. The original TTAPS study used a simulation so shockingly simplistic (I can briefly post the details if anyone cares) that any increase in realism always resulted in no "Nuclear Winter." Nevertheless, the US government went to great expense to double-check via a series of experiments (which I can also describe if you wish).
By the way, "Nuclear Winter" was supposed to be caused by soot from enormous fires set by detonating nukes, not by dust and/or ash thrown up by said nukes, as some here have mis-remembered. Also, the "Nuclear Winter" theory was created as an argument in favor of nuclear disarmament, not as "evidence of MAD being a viable deterent," as someone posted here. FYI: with the coming of MIRVs, most warhead yields were reduced to 500 kilotons or less, larger-yield weapons being reserved for "hard" targets such as missile silos. The targets reported hit so far in the TV program do not match any plausible ballistic missile target set, and the only device described so far (with a 20 kiloton yield, equivalent to Hiroshima) was being smuggled into New York City by a few men in a truck, implying that the strikes are the work of small ground teams. Diminishing returns mean that little significant additional damage would result from much larger yields, while such weapons would be much more difficult to conceal and transport, so megaton-plus yields seem implausible when discussing Jericho. Also please note that a single surface burst of even megaton-plus yield would not be enough to destroy any one of most of the cities mentioned as struck in the TV show. And a 20 kiloton burst would not even destroy Manhattan, much less all of NYC. Finally, the evidence is in on Global Warming. It is real, and humans are (at least in significant part) causing it. The last three studies, released not long ago, ended any real doubts. I hope you all find these facts useful in enjoying Jericho. |
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| Anonymous | Nuclear facts (page: 1 2 3 4 5 ... last page) | 107 | Aug 27 2007, 2:59 PM EDT by genpatton43 | |
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Thread started: Nov 29 2006, 9:17 PM EST
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I am sorry, but no way would the sun and moon and the stars just keep on shining! With multiple nuclear blasts.in various locations there would be a "nuclear winter". In other words, nothing would keep on shining. It would always be dark or close to it and it would get very, very, very cold. So, although I love this show, I know how completely unrealistic it is. People, don't ever think that it would be this easy to survive. Only the cockroach would definitely survive, so perhaps they are what is really "made in God's image", LOL!!!
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| savagesteve13 | The 50 megaton test didn not produce nuclear winter because... | 0 | Jul 19 2007, 3:52 PM EDT by savagesteve13 | |
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Thread started: Jul 19 2007, 3:52 PM EDT
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For one thing, the 50 megaton Tsar bomba was dropped at Novaya Zemlya near the arctic circle, and it was done at 8000+ feet, an airburst over frozen land. Even the soviets knew the possibility of such a bomb tossing up gigantic amounts of fallout, so they did a high altitude airburst in an area where winds wouldn't carry fallout down to populated areas. Even so, the fireball reached the ground and killed a few people. What was in their favor was the 97% efficiency of the weapon which reduced fallout drastically and the lead tamper that cut the yield in half, but also cut the fallout in half too.
The US Military conducted tests that indicated the proper height for an airburst is about 750 feet, which creates a distorted pressure wave that moves large objects and destroys them by dragging them hundreds of feet. It also creates a large mix of fallout. The US has always classified its nuke yield effectiveness in terms of "Rads" rather than blast. They consider the lethality of the bomb in terms of radiation output rather than blast , shock or heat. |
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