Nuclear+War

__NUCLEAR WAR__
Nuclear warfare is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weapons are used. It is vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage than conventional weapons. Unlike some other Existential Threats, nuclear weapons are made by man and threaten to destroy man.

Nuclear War is rumoured to have come very close to reality during the Cold War conflict between the USA and the Former Soviet Union.

__NUCLEAR NATIONS__
There are up to 10 nations thought to have nuclear weapon capabilities: U.S.A. Russia U.K. China France Pakistan India North Korea Israel? (thought by some to have nuclear weapons - never confirmed)

The U.S.A. and Russia poses 96% of ALL nuclear weapons between them. The table below gives current stockpile figures.

The Non-Proliferation Treaty was formed in 1970. It was a landmark international treaty aimed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, to promote the peaceful uses of nuclear power, and achieve nuclear disarmament.
 * The NPT:**

= __NUCLEAR WEAPONS__ =

A nuclear weapon requires a reaction to cause the explosion. There are two types of reaction.
 * The Reaction:**

The nucleus of heavy elements like Uranium or Plutonium can split into two roughly equal sized nuclei with the release of energy. The process is known as a nuclear fission. If a sufficient amount of fissile material is concentrated in one place then the chain reaction proceeds very fast leading to an explosion.
 * The Fission Reaction:**

The nucleus of very light elements like isotopes of hydrogen undergo nuclear fusion. Two light nuclei combine to form a single nucleus with the release of energy. Requires very high temperatures and density for initiation.
 * The Fusion Reaction:**

From the military usage point of view, they are classified as either tactical weapons or strategic weapons.

Tactical weapons: Low yield. To be used in the battlefield against military formations. Strategic weapons: High yield. To be used against civilian populations in big cities.

Only the fission reaction takes place. The simplest nuclear weapons to design and build. Yeild = a few tons to about a few hundred kilotons. Tactical or Strategic weapons. The largest pure fission weapon tested = 500 kiloton Mk-18 (USA)
 * (Pure) Fission Weapons**
 * (**Hiroshima and Nagasaki)

Efficiency boosted fission weapon through introduction of a small amount of material that can undergo fusion. The fission reaction takes place first and produces the required temperatures and densities for the fusion reaction. The fusion in turn accelerates the fission reaction. The fusion only serves to help the fission process go faster and hence make the weapon more efficient. Most of the fission weapons deployed today are boosted fission weapons.
 * Boosted Fission Weapons**

Also called hydrogen bombs - the most powerful of nuclear weapons! Yield = mostly from fusion reaction. Often a few megatons. Fission explosion (primary stage) required to trigger fusion (secondary stage) Contain a substantial amount of fusion fuel. Most of their yield comes from fusion. Indeed these are. A third fission stage can be added to produce very high yield weapon. Most powerful tested - Tsar Bomba (50 megaton three stage weapon (USSR)
 * Thermonuclear Weapons**

Also called neutron bombs. Small tactical thermonuclear weapon - produce intense nuclear radiation. Designed to kill soldiers protected by armour (eg. inside tanks). Radiation produced can easily penetrate the armour of tanks and kill all inside.
 * Enhanced Radiation Weapons**

Also called cobalt bombs or Doomsday Devices since they could possibly kill everyone on earth. Thermonuclear weapon. Produce a large amount of long lasting radioactive fallout. Results in large scale radioactive contamination of the area. The fallout from the salted weapons - has a much longer lifetime. Although conceived of and discussed, probably none have been tested or built.
 * Salted Nuclear Weapons**

__TYPES & SIZE OF NUCLEAR BOMB/EXPLOSION__
So how to quantify the extreme power of a nuclear weapon?
 * The Nuclear bomb**

1 Mega-Ton (1MT) = A nuclear explosion is one that produces the same amount of energy as does one million tons of TNT. Amazing when you consider that the most powerful bomb ever made was 50 Mega-tons (orignally designed as 100MT).

Consider a 1MT hydrogen bomb in context. The map below shows a bomb dropped on Sydney CBD.



It would produce a lethal radiation inner circle of approx 50km. Instantly wiping out everything as far as Pentrith and Cambelltown.

In a radius of 145km certain death would occur within two weeks. This would reach as far as Bathurst.

The outer circle radius of 400km would experience harmful radiation, but not immediate death. This reaches out past Forbes and Parkes.

A large explosion creates a crater in the earth.Thousands of tons of earth from the crater are pulverized into trillions of particles. These particles are contaminated by radioactive atoms produced by the nuclear explosion. The radioactive particles are carried up into a mushroom-shaped cloud, miles above the earth.The particles fall out of the mushroom cloud until it disperses and the descending radioactive particles are carried by the winds. This becomes fallout.The largest, heaviest fallout particles reach the ground first, in locations close to the explosion.Many smaller particles are carried by the winds for tens to thousands of miles.
 * Ground Explosion:**

Thermal pulses (heat radiation that travels at the speed of light) from an air burst Can set fire to ignitable materials in area as large as that damaged by the blast May cause second-degree skin burns to exposed people up to ten miles from a 1 MT explosion. (distance could be smaller larger depending on weather conditions)
 * Air Burst Explosion:**

The fireball does not touch the ground - no crater. Produces extremely small radioactive airborne particles for days to years (unless brought to earth by rain or snow).

Each contaminated particle continuously gives off invisible radiation having fallen to earth.
 * __FALLOUT & RADIOACTIVITY__**

The smallest fallout particles (tiny enough to be inhaled) are invisible to the naked eye. These tiny particles would fall so slowly from the greater heights that most would remain airborne for weeks to years before reaching the ground - extremely wide dispersal and radioactive decay would make them much less dangerous. (The longer fallout particles have been airborne before reaching the ground, the less dangerous is their radiation.)

Tiny particles promptly brought to earth by rain or snow become "hot spots," before drying and being blown about by the winds. These particles would constitute a long-term but relatively minor post-attack danger. The danger from fallout radiation lessens with time. Radioactive decay is rapid at first, then slows. The dose rate (the amount of radiation received per hour) decreases accordingly.

A shelter requires sufficient thickness of earth or other heavy shielding material against gamma rays (like X rays, but more penetrating). The denser a substance, the better it serves for shielding material.
 * Fallout Shelters**

The air in properly designed fallout shelters (with or without air filters) would be free of radioactive particles and safe to breathe except in a few rare environments.

Almost all persons confined to expedient shelters after a nuclear attack would be under stress and without clean surroundings or antibiotics to fight infections. Many also would lack adequate water and food. Under these unprecedented conditions resistance to radiation levels may be significantly reduced.

For additional information on the standards of a fallout shelter see: []

Explanation of the rating levels If the dose rate 1 hour after an explosion is 1000 R/hr, it would take about 2 weeks for the dose rate to be reduced to 1 R/hr solely as a result of radioactive decay.
 * Radioactivity**

Weathering effects would reduce the dose rate further. Rain would wash fallout particles from plants and houses to lower positions on or closer to the ground. Surrounding objects would reduce the radiation dose from these low-lying particles.

Some gamma radiation from fallout will penetrate the shielding materials of even an excellent shelter. The dose received inside an excellent shelter be smaller than the average person receives in a lifetime.

Two weeks after an attack the occupants of most shelters could safely stop using them, or could work outside the shelters for an increasing number of hours each day. Exceptions would be in areas of extremely heavy fallout such as might occur downwind from important targets attacked with many weapons.

To know when to come out safely, occupants either would need a reliable fallout meter to measure the changing radiation dangers, or must receive information based on measurements made nearby with a reliable instrument.



[|Sources for this image]

The radiation dose that will kill a person varies considerably with different people. It is considered that a dose of 450 R from fallout radiation exposure of the whole body will kill approx 50% of people. Most studies indicate that it would take somewhat less.
 * Fatal Radiation Doses & Recovery**

The human body can repair most radiation damage if the daily radiation doses are not too large. A healthy person that has not been exposed in the past two weeks to a total radiation dose of more than 100 R can receive a dose of 6 R each day for at least two months without being incapacitated.

If fallout particles do not become mixed with the parts of food that are eaten, no harm is done. Food and water in dust-tight containers are not contaminated by fallout radiation. Peeling fruits and vegetables removes essentially all fallout.
 * Food & Water Contamination**

Water from many sources such as deep wells and covered reservoirs, tanks, and containers would not be contaminated. Even water containing dissolved radioactive elements and compounds can be made safe for drinking by simply filtering it through earth. < style="background: yellow;">How?

__NUCLEAR THREAT TO AUSTRALIA__
The threat of nuclear weapons being used against Australia is considered low and would require a conflict between super powers equipped with intercontinental ballistic missiles. The most obvious threat would be from China.

The map below (and in the dropbox) shows the 'Top 40' strategic targets in Australia (image source [|www.aussurvivalist.com]). The blue dots represent air burst weapons of 1MT or 500KT and the yellow dots surface burst of similar yields. The air burst weapons do not result in any appreciable nuclear fallout, however, the shaded yellow areas show the area that would receive an accumulated dose of greater that 100 rems within 14 days of the explosion.



__NUCLEAR WAR MOVIES__
The War Game: [] The Day After (1983) Threads (1984) On the Beach (2000)

__NUCLEAR WAR LINKS__
Wikipedia description: [] Surviving Nuclear War: __[|www.aussurvivalist.com]__ Information on Nuclear War: __[|www.nucleardarkness.org]__ Greenpeace Disarmament []

Albert Einstein:
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

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