Nuclear threat: what to fear, damaging factors

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

In today's world, the headlines of many news publications are full of the words "Nuclear Threat". This frightens many, and even more people have no idea what to do if this becomes a reality. We will deal with all this further.

From the history of the study of atomic energy

The study of atoms and the energy they release began at the end of the 19th century. A huge contribution to this was made by European scientists Pierre Curie and his wife Maria Sklodowska-Curie, Rutherford, Niels Bohr, Albert Einstein. All of them, to varying degrees, discovered and proved that the atom consists of smaller particles that have a certain energy.

In 1937, Irene Curie and her student discovered and described the process of fission of the uranium atom. And already in the early 1940s in the United States of America, a group of scientists developed the principles of a nuclear explosion. The Alamogordo test site for the first time felt the full power of their development. It happened on June 16, 1945.

And after 2 months the first atomic bombs with a capacity of about 20 kilotons were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The inhabitants of these settlements did not even imagine the threat of a nuclear explosion. ATas a result, the victims amounted to approximately 140 and 75 thousand people, respectively.

It is worth noting that there was no military need for such actions on the part of the United States. The government of the country thus simply decided to demonstrate its power to the whole world. Fortunately, this is the only use of such a powerful weapon of mass destruction at the moment.

Until 1947, this country was the only one with the knowledge and technology to produce atomic bombs. But in 1947, the USSR caught up with them, thanks to the successful developments of a group of scientists led by academician Kurchatov. After that, the arms race began. The United States was in a hurry to create thermonuclear bombs as quickly as possible, the first of which had a yield of 3 megatons and was detonated at a test site in November 1952. The USSR caught up with them and here, after a little more than six months, having tested a similar weapon.

Today, the threat of a global nuclear war is constantly in the air. And although dozens of global agreements have been adopted on the non-use of such weapons and the destruction of existing bombs, there are a number of countries that refuse to accept the conditions described in them and continue to develop and test new warheads. Unfortunately, they do not quite understand that the massive use of such weapons can destroy all life on the planet.

What is a nuclear explosion?

Atomic energy is based on the rapid fission of heavy nuclei that make up radioactive elements. These include, in particular, uranium and plutonium. And if the first one occurs innatural environment and in the world it is mined, the second is obtained only by special synthesis of it in special reactors. Since nuclear energy is also used for peaceful purposes, the activities of such reactors are controlled at the international level by a special commission of the IAEA.

According to the place where bombs can explode, they are divided into:

• air (an explosion occurs in the atmosphere above the earth's surface);
• ground and surface (the bomb directly touches their surface);
• underground and underwater (bombs are triggered in deep layers of soil and water).

The nuclear threat also scares people by the fact that during a bomb explosion there are several damaging factors:

1. Destructive shockwave that sweeps away everything in its path.
2. Powerful light radiation that turns into thermal energy.
3. Penetrating radiation that only special shelters can protect against.
4. Radioactive contamination of the area, posing a threat to living organisms for a long time after the explosion itself.
5. An electromagnetic pulse that disables all devices and negatively affects a person.

As you can see, if you do not know in advance about the approaching strike, it is almost impossible to escape from it. That is why the threat of the use of nuclear weapons is so frightening to modern people. Next, we will analyze in more detail how each of the damaging factors described above affects a person.

Shockwave

This is the first thingman when the threat of a nuclear strike is realized. It practically does not differ in its nature from an ordinary blast wave. But with an atomic bomb, it lasts longer and spreads over considerable distances. Yes, and the power of destruction is significant.

At its core, this is an area of air compression, which spreads very quickly in all directions from the epicenter of the explosion. For example, it only takes 2 seconds for it to cover a distance of 1 km from the center of its formation. Further, the speed begins to fall, and in 8 seconds it will only reach the 3 km mark.

The speed of air movement and its pressure determine its main destructive force. Fragments of buildings, fragments of glass, pieces of trees and pieces of equipment that met on her way fly along with the air. And if a person somehow managed to avoid being hurt by the shockwave itself, there is a good chance that they will be hit by something that it brings with it.

Also, the destructive force of the shock wave depends on the place where the bomb was detonated. The most dangerous is air, the most gentle - underground.

She has another important point: when after the explosion the compressed air diverges in all directions, a vacuum is formed in its epicenter. Therefore, after the termination of the shock wave, everything that flew from the explosion will return back. This is an extremely important point that is important to know in order to protect against its damaging effect.

Light emission

This is directed energy in the form of rays, which consist of the visible spectrum, ultraviolet and infrared waves. First, itcapable of affecting the organs of vision (to the point of completely losing it), even if a person is at a sufficient distance so as not to suffer much from the shock wave.

Due to the violent reaction, light energy quickly turns into heat. And if a person managed to protect his eyes, then open areas of the skin can get burned, as from fire or boiling water. It is so powerful that it can ignite anything that burns and melt anything that does not burn. Therefore, burns can remain on the body up to the fourth degree, when even internal organs begin to char.

Therefore, even if a person is at a considerable distance from the explosion, it is better not to risk he alth in order to admire this "beauty". If there is a real nuclear threat, it is best to protect yourself from it in a special shelter.

Penetrating radiation

What we used to call radiation is actually several types of radiation that have different ability to penetrate through substances. Passing through them, they give up part of their energy, accelerating electrons and in some cases changing the properties of substances.

Atomic bombs emit gamma particles and neutrons, which have the highest penetrating power and energy. It has a detrimental effect on living beings. Once in the cells, they act on the atoms of which they are composed. This leads to their death and further non-viability of entire organs and systems. The result is a painful death.

Medium and high power bombs have a smaller area of effect, while moreweak ammunition is capable of destroying everything with radiation over vast areas. This is due to the fact that the latter emit radiation, which has the property of charging the particles around them and transferring this quality to them. Consequently, what used to be safe becomes a source of deadly radiation leading to radiation sickness.

Now we know what kind of radiation poses a threat during a nuclear explosion. But the zone of its action also depends on the place of this very explosion. Underground and underwater bomb sites are safer, since the environment is able to dampen the radiation wave, significantly reducing its propagation area. It is for this reason that modern tests of such weapons are carried out below the surface of the earth.

It is important to know not only what kind of radiation poses a threat during a nuclear explosion, but also what dose of radiation poses a real risk to he alth. The unit of measurement is the roentgen (r). If a person receives a dose of 100-200 r, then he will develop first-degree radiation sickness. It is manifested by discomfort for a person, nausea and temporary dizziness, but does not pose a threat to life. 200-300 r will give symptoms of radiation sickness of the second degree. A person in this case will need specific therapy, but he has a good chance of surviving. But a dose of more than 300 r often causes a lethal outcome. Almost every organ in the patient is affected. He is shown more symptomatic therapy, because it is quite difficult to cure third-degree radiation sickness.

Radioactive contamination

In nuclear physics there is a concept of half-lifesubstances. So, at the moment of the explosion, it just happens. This means that after the reaction, particles of unreacted substance will remain on the affected surface, which will continue to divide and emit penetrating radiation.

Also, induced radioactivity can be used in ammunition. This means that the bombs were specially designed so that after the explosion, substances capable of emitting radiation were formed in the ground and on its surface, which is an additional damaging factor. But it only works for a couple of hours and in close proximity to the epicenter of the explosion.

The main mass of particles of matter, which constitutes the main danger of radioactive contamination, rises in the explosion cloud several kilometers up, unless it is underground. There, with atmospheric phenomena, they spread over large areas, which poses an additional threat even to those people who remained far from the epicenter of the incident. Often living organisms inhale or swallow these substances, thereby earning themselves radiation sickness. After all, after getting inside the body, radioactive particles act directly on the organs, killing them.

Electromagnetic pulse

Because an explosion is the release of a huge amount of energy, some of it is electrical. This creates an electromagnetic pulse that lasts for a short time. It disables everything that is in any way connected with electricity.

It has little effect on the human body, because it does not divergeaway from the epicenter of the explosion. And if at that moment there are people there, then more terrible damaging factors act on them.

Now you understand the danger of a nuclear explosion. But the facts described above concern only one bomb. If someone uses this weapon, most likely, he will receive the same gift in response. Not much ammunition is needed to make our planet uninhabitable. Herein lies the real threat. There are enough nuclear weapons in the world to destroy everything around.

From theory to practice

Above we have described what can happen if an atomic bomb explodes somewhere. Its destructive and striking abilities are difficult to overestimate. But describing the theory, we did not take into account one very important factor - politics. The most powerful countries in the world are armed with nuclear weapons to frighten their potential opponents with a possible retaliatory strike and show that they themselves can be the first to start another war if the interests of their states are severely infringed on the world political arena.

So, every year the global problem of the threat of nuclear war is becoming more acute. Today, the main aggressors are Iran and North Korea, which do not allow members of the IAEA to their nuclear facilities. This gives reason to believe that they are building up their combat power. Let's see which countries create a real nuclear threat in the modern world.

It all started with the USA

The first atomic bombs, their first tests and use are connected precisely with the United States of America. The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki arewanted to show that they had become a country to be reckoned with, otherwise they could launch their bombs.

From the 40s of the last century to this day, the United States is forced to take them into account in the balance of power on the political map, largely due to such threats. The country does not want to give up nuclear weapons for disposal, because then it will immediately lose its weight in the world.

But such a policy already once almost caused a tragedy, when by mistake atomic bombs were almost launched towards the USSR, from where the "answer" would have immediately arrived.

Therefore, so that trouble does not happen, all US nuclear threats are immediately regulated by the world community so that a terrible disaster does not begin.

Russian Federation

Russia has largely become the heir of the collapsed USSR. It was this state that was the first and, perhaps, the only one to openly oppose the United States. Yes, in the Soviet Union, the development of such weapons of mass destruction lagged behind the American ones, but this already made them afraid of a retaliatory strike.

The Russian Federation got all these developments, ready-made warheads and the experience of the best scientists. Therefore, even now the country has several nuclear weapons in service as a weighty argument in the political threats from the United States and Western countries.

At the same time, new types of weapons are constantly being developed, in which some politicians see Russia's nuclear threat towards America. But official representatives of this country openly declare that they are not afraid of missiles from the Russian Federation, sohow they have an excellent missile defense system. What is actually happening between the rulers of these two states is difficult to imagine, because official statements are often far from the real state of affairs.

Another Legacy

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, atomic warheads remained on the territory of Ukraine, since Soviet military bases were also located here. Since in the nineties of the last century this country was not in the best economic condition, and its weight on the world stage was insignificant, it was decided to destroy the dangerous heritage. In exchange for Ukraine's consent to disarm, the strongest countries promised her their assistance in protecting sovereignty, if there were encroachments on it from outside.

Unfortunately for her, this memorandum was signed by some countries, which then became in open confrontation. Therefore, it is quite difficult to say that this agreement is still in force today.

Iranian program

When the US began active operations in the Middle East, Iran decided to defend itself against them by creating its own nuclear program, which included the enrichment of uranium, which can be used not only as fuel for power plants, but also to create warheads.

The world community has done everything to stop this program, because the whole world is against the appearance of all new types of weapons of mass destruction. By signing several third-party treaties, Iran has agreed that the issue of the threat of nuclear war has become quite acute. Therefore, the program itself was curtailed.

At the same timetime it can always be unfrozen. This is the subject of blackmail on the part of Iran of the entire world community. I react especially sharply in Tehran to certain US actions directed against this eastern country. Therefore, the nuclear threat from Iran is still relevant, because its leaders say that they have a "Plan B" on how to quickly and efficiently establish the production of enriched uranium.

North Korea

The most acute threat of nuclear war in the modern world is in connection with the tests that are being conducted in the DPRK. Its leader Kim Jong-un says that scientists have already managed to create warheads that can fit on intercontinental missiles that can easily reach US territory. True or not, it is difficult to say, since the country is in political and economic isolation.

North Korea is required to curtail all development and testing of new weapons. They also ask to allow the IAEA commission to study the situation with the use of radioactive substances. Sanctions are being imposed to encourage the DPRK to act. And Pyongyang is really responding to them: it is conducting new tests that have been repeatedly spotted from orbiting satellites. More than once in the news, the idea slipped that at some point Korea might start a war, but through agreements it was possible to contain it.

It is difficult to say how this confrontation will end, especially after Donald Trump took over as President of the United States. That the American, that the Korean leader are differentunpredictability. Therefore, any action that seems to threaten the country can lead to the fact that the third (and this time the last) world war will begin.

Peaceful atom?

But the modern nuclear threat is expressed not only in the military might of states. Nuclear energy is also used in power plants. And as sad as it sounds, accidents happen on them too. The most famous is the Chernobyl disaster, which happened on April 26, 1986. The amount of radiation that was thrown into the air during it can be compared with 300 bombs in Hiroshima only by the amount of cesium-137. A radioactive cloud has covered a significant part of the planet, and the territories around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant are still so contaminated that they can award a person staying on them with serious radiation sickness in a couple of minutes.

The cause of the accident was the tests, which ended in failure: the workers did not have time to cool the reactor in time, and the roof melted in it, causing a fire at the station. A beam of ionizing radiation hit the open sky, and the contents of the reactor turned into dust, which became that radioactive cloud.

The second most famous is the accident at the Japanese station "Fukushima-1". It was caused by a strong earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. As a result, their external and emergency power supply systems failed, which made it impossible to cool the reactors in time. Because of this, they melted. But the rescuers were ready for such a development of events and took all measures as quickly as possible to prevent a catastrophe.

Then serious consequences were avoided only thanks to the well-coordinated work of the liquidators. But there were several dozen minor accidents in the world. All of them carried the threat of radioactive contamination and radiation sickness.

Therefore, we can say that man has not yet fully managed to tame the energy of the atom. And even if all radioactive warheads are destroyed, the problems of the nuclear threat will not completely disappear. This is precisely the force that, in addition to being useful, is capable of causing serious destruction and destroying life on earth. Therefore, it is necessary to treat nuclear energy as responsibly as possible and not play with fire, as the powers that be do.