Posted on 09/21/2001 4:36:58 PM PDT by backhoe
15 Posted on 09/28/2001 00:53:15 PDT by Dan DayAnd how much damage (radius in miles) could a suitcase nuke deliver?
Max yield of a "suitcase nuke" is about 1 kiloton That's 1/15th the yield of the (relatively small) a-bomb we dropped on Hiroshima.
The smallest US nukes ever made had yields on the order of 0.02 kilotons:
That's about 5 times the power of the OKC bomb, so you could pretty much wipe out any single building or close-spaced cluster of buildings, but you couldn't wipe out all of DC with it. Total damage wouldn't be any greater than that already achieved in lower Manhattan right now.
Something up into the 1 kiloton range would destroy a few city blocks and wreak havoc a lot farther, but still wouldn't wipe out the whole city. You could probably set one on the steps of the Capitol and the White House would be somewhat worse for wear, but easily still standing
It would cause third-degree burns from the direct thermal effects out to about .40 miles, cause a 5psi overpressure out to about .43 miles, and give a 500 rem radiation dose out to about .84 miles. Each of those amounts (third-degree burns / 5psi / 500 rem) represent the "you're screwed" threshhold, basically. So beyond about 1 mile for a 1kt blast, things start looking up considerably.
The "little" nukes are less powerful than most people assume.
Man, I do not like these screwy changes to this board at all! That's not what I wanted or expected this copy of DD's reply to look like.
Do not bend needle until removed from thigh! lol
Ah, so that would mean only the medics get to bend the needles. Since you're supposed to leave 'em in so the medics can tell how many doses you've already had....
Exactly right...and precisely the reason american liberals ALWAYS go non-linear at any "nuke" civil defense proposals. A 100 percent certain "kneejerk" reaction. It never fails that they will attack vehemently anyone proposing nuclear survival preparations for the general population as demonstrated during the Reagan administration...the last time any such proposals were made. The libs have always fought to keep america vulnerable to the Soviet and now the Chicom nuclear threats. They...along with the gullibles that votefor them...are and always have been the enemy of america.
This is a PDF file that is the Most Comprehensive I have found on Bio-Terrorism (Awesome!)
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