Why would they need DDT?
Our clothes have an impact
How severe the bomb burns would depend on the
clothing worn during the explosion. White clothing
serves as a kind of "shield" and is better than black,
which absorbs energy and makes burns worse.
Within a radius of 6.2 miles, death is almost
certain
Unless we were protected in a bunker, with a very
solid interior, or extremely lucky, the chance of
surviving a one-megaton nuclear explosion (within a
10-km/6 mile radius) would be very slim.
But what if it was a 50 megaton bomb?
However, the calculations mentioned were made with
a 1-megaton bomb in mind, but far stronger bombs
exist. In 1963 Russia tested the so-called Tsar Bomb in
the Arctic Ocean. A 50-megaton bomb.
Why would they need DDT? To kill all the giant bugs created by nuclear radiation, of course. People in the 1950s knew this from watching 1950s science fiction movies, most of which were about giant bugs created by nuclear radiation.
ReplyDeleteThe Tsar Bomba ("King Bomb") was an impressive bomb indeed -- the largest man-made explosion ever. It was tested on the uninhabited island of Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic Ocean. The mushroom cloud went up forty miles and measured sixty miles across the top. The shock wave broke windows in buildings up to six hundred miles away, equivalent to detonating a bomb over San Francisco and its shock wave breaking windows in Portland. However, the Tsar Bomba was completely impractical as an actual weapon. It was so large and heavy that no missile could carry it -- only the very largest bombers could have barely managed it, and in a hot war situation it's very unlikely that large Soviet bombers could have gotten anywhere near NATO territory without being shot down. I don't think any more of them were manufactured. Typical nuclear weapons today are usually around two megatons, which is still more than a hundred times as powerful as the Hiroshima bomb.
I guess it is getting time again to revisit these lessons...
ReplyDeleteOh dear...what a depressing subject, lol.
ReplyDeleteWith the memories of ducking under old wooden desks at school during the 50s air raid exercises, I grew to realize there would be no happy ending to all this nonsense. Some would certainly survive, but for how long after the "two week period." with water contaminated, edible food shortages in short supply, disease inevitable with rotting corpses everywhere, and yes, all those giant bugs roaming around, what would be the point.
ReplyDeleteWe only get one chance to make life livable on Planet Earth. If we don't have the intelligence to accomplish that fact, we most certainly would deserve the extinction it portends. It seems apparent that we have been on this path to annihilation since the dawn of humankind; wars, rumors of war, etc. etc.
If we've been on the path to annihilation since the dawn of humankind, it must be an awfully long path.
DeleteAs I have instructed my wife (due to the nearness of 2 major targets): Run TOWARD the blast. It's faster and less painful that way.
ReplyDeletePat - I was thinking of your words when putting this post together and wondered if we would even have time to run toward the light.
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