What Would Be the Damage of a Nuclear Bomb?
Damage of a Nuclear Bomb?
The first and initially most devastating damage of a nuclear bomb detonation would come from the blast. The blast creates both a change in air pressure that would collapse buildings and a sudden violent wind that could reach hundreds of miles per hour and would kill people and throw objects through the air with a tornado-like effect. The pressure created from the event would also be fatal to humans within the effected area around the detonation. The heat at ground zero would exceed millions of degrees and would completely incinerate everything in its wake.
Radiation is one of the long-range causes of damage of a nuclear bomb. During the blast, radiation is very intense but its travel distance is limited. Radiation that falls to the earth after the blast in the form of radioactive fallout is much more widespread. People will die from exposure to radiation long after the blast. They will develop illnesses and death will follow shortly after. Others will suffer illnesses, but will recover. However, they will be much more likely to contract more diseases throughout what is left of their lives. Still others will have only slight exposure and they will most likely have nausea, perhaps a short illness, but will recover. However, they will suffer long-term effects of the exposure such as cancer.
Another damage of a nuclear bomb detonation would be fires. Most structures will be leveled in the detonation area. The heat from the blast will ignite other structures still standing after the blast. The fires are most likely started by thermal energy from the blast. There would also be fires from failed urban infrastructures, gas lines, electric lines, etc. would all start fires. A firestorm would be devastating enough on its own, but in this case, it will be an aftereffect of the damage caused by a nuclear bomb.
As if the damage of a nuclear bomb listed so far was not enough, there will also be an electromagnetic pulse from the blast. This pulse would completely wipe out all electronic equipment within range. Since it is highly unlikely that there would be any surviving electronic equipment after a nuclear detonation, it may not be the most devastating effect of the bomb, but it is fact still the same.
Fallout is one of the long-term damages of a nuclear bomb. Fallout particles that are radiated and carried high into the atmosphere can travel very far and effect hundreds and thousands of people far from the detonation site. These particles would affect water supply, food supply, and the air quality. Every part of life would be touched by long-range traveling fallout. Eventually, these particles could travel around the world and affect food supplies globally.
These are just brief descriptions of some of the damage a nuclear bomb would cause. In a world where more and more countries are trying everything they can to obtain nuclear weapons, it is unsettling to think of the real consequences of using these types of weapons. One wonders if it is just a matter of time before some country somewhere with these weapons acts irrationally. The world will have to pay the price for such error in judgement.