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To: Doomonyou

Not really. The blast itself not only turns a portion of the material into energy, but basically throws the rest of it all over the place, as particles. This would definitely have an effect on the biosphere, but remember that the core of a fission weapon is rather small. It's not that much hazardous material, spread out over thousands (maybe millions) of square miles. Higher cancer rates near ground zero, perhaps slight increases in outlying areas. We wouldn't have hordes of mutants, though. Chernobyl was entirely different. That sucker was irradiating steam and weather like crazy (IIRC).


56 posted on 09/22/2004 12:17:27 PM PDT by Shryke (Never retreat. Never explain. Get it done and let them howl.)
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To: Shryke
The population density of New York is much greater than that of Chernobyl.

Either way, a nuclear blast of any size would cause the relocation of millions.

62 posted on 09/22/2004 12:22:25 PM PDT by Doomonyou (Molon Labe! FMCDH!)
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To: Shryke
Not really. The blast itself not only turns a portion of the material into energy,

A trivial amount -- around 1%.

but basically throws the rest of it all over the place, as particles. This would definitely have an effect on the biosphere, but remember that the core of a fission weapon is rather small. It's not that much hazardous material, spread out over thousands (maybe millions) of square miles.

True, but you seem to be overlooking the fact that the energy from the blast itself, especially in a groundburst, converts a *huge* amount of surrounding material (dirt, stone, steel, etc.) into radiactive isotopes. The great majority of fallout comes not from the original core of the bomb itself, but from the secondary conversions. This is why groundbursts are much "dirtier", fallout-wise, than airbursts. They also stir up more of the irradiated material and send it up into the atmosphere, to fall... somewhere.

Although today, people would know to hop in their cars and get out from the probable path of fallout, unlike the unsuspecting Japanese in 1945.

74 posted on 09/22/2004 1:05:59 PM PDT by Ichneumon ("...she might as well have been a space alien." - Bill Clinton, on Hillary, "My Life", p. 182)
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