Russia's invasion of Ukraine increases the risk of nuclear war. Maybe you have wondered why everyone is worried about this. Actually, what will happen when a nuclear bomb is dropped?
The answer depends on how many weapons are dropped, as launched by Science Alert, Saturday (12/3/2022). There are several types and sizes of nuclear weapons, but modern bombs usually begin by provoking a fission reaction. Fission is the division of the nucleus from heavy atoms into lighter atoms by a process that releases neutrons.
The results of fission reactions are very dangerous and usually fission bombs are better known as atomic bombs. The atomic bomb was a type of bomb that destroyed Nagasaki and Hiroshima with a force of between 15 kilotons and 20 kilotons of explosive material.
According to a 2007 report from the Preventive Defense Project workshop, a 10-kiloton nuclear weapon could immediately kill about 50% of people within a 3.2 km radius of ground detonation. The deaths will be caused by fire, intense radiation exposure and other fatal injuries.
Some of these people would be injured by the pressure from the explosion, while most would be injured from collapsing buildings or flying shrapnel. Most buildings within a 0.8 km radius of the explosion will collapse or be severely damaged.
Threat from radiation
Not only the effects that occur immediately after the bomb is dropped, radiation becomes the next threat. The risk is greatest at 48 hours after detonation.
At 48 hours after the explosion, the area initially exposed to 1,000 x-rays per hour will only experience 10 x-rays per hour. About half of people who experience a total radiation dose of about 350 x-rays over a few days will most likely die of acute radiation poisoning.
Survivors are at high risk of developing cancer for the rest of their lives. According to the ICRC, specialized hospitals in Hiroshima and Nagasaki have treated more than 10,000 officially recognized survivors of the 1945 explosion, with most of the deaths in this group caused by cancer.
Environmental disaster
Radioactivity has serious environmental and health effects. Depending on the size of the nuclear conflict, an explosion may even have the potential to affect the climate. Furthermore, we can reflect on the Chernobyl event which resulted in changes in the color of trees in the surrounding area. Not only that, there are also genetic disorders in animals and plants around the Chernobyl area.