- Atomic Bomb Explosion: How To Survive?
- researchers simulate nuclear explosion
- This places should one in indoors avoid
- blast wave as a great danger
The Ukraine war will still be keeping people busy in 2023. Putin recently surprised with a historic appearance. Since the Russian war of aggression, concerns about a possible atomic bomb explosion have not been greater for a long time. Researchers from the University of Nicosia in Cyprus have in a study asked whether one can protect oneself from a nuclear explosion and – if so – how best to do so.
Study on nuclear explosion: blast wave as a major hazard
First of all, the scientists unfortunately have to state that it there’s no good place to hide, if you are too close to the atomic bomb. Everything within a radius of a few kilometers is vaporized by the atomic bomb. Radiation poses a serious health threat, even from a distance, and radioactive rain can still be measured years later.
Another The pressure wave represents a great danger, which arises during the explosion. This can reach such high flight speeds that people are lifted into the air – and sometimes dozens of kilometers away from the impact.
The researchers studied this pressure wave and considered how safe people would be indoors.
Researchers simulate atomic bomb explosion
The authors of the study initially state that Concrete houses can withstand a blast. They designed computer models with rooms in a concrete building. Subsequently simulated she one Atomic bomb detonation with a 750-kiloton warhead, as might be caused by a typical ICBM. That would be a very violent explosion.
The explosive power of the two atomic bombs that the United States dropped on Japan in 1945 were around 16 and 24 kilotons, respectively. The largest bomb ever tested had a yield of 50,000 kilotons. It was tested by the Soviet Union in 1961.
About the simulation with 750 kilotons, the researchers write: “This scenario represents a catastrophic scenario due to the existence of such a warhead and increasing geopolitical tensions.”
Nuclear Explosion: What Are The Most Dangerous Indoor Locations?
But even if you are in a stable building, you are not safe. Tight spaces can actually increase flight speed, since the air can bounce off the walls and then even bend around corners. A force can be generated that, in the worst case, corresponds to 18 times the body weight of a human being.
“Our study shows that high flight speeds remain a significant hazard and can still result in serious injury or even death,” reports one of the authors, Dimitris Drikakis. When most dangerous places indoors became places near windows, corridors or doors turned off.
“People should stay away from these places and seek shelter immediately,” said study author Ioannis Kokkinakis. How to protect yourself indoors? “By positioning yourself in the corners of the wall facing the blast”, explains Kokkinakis.
The time between the explosion and the pressure wave is only a few seconds – so speed is required. The researchers hope, however, that their advice will never have to be applied in reality.
For further reading: Atomic bomb on Berlin: That’s how bad a nuclear war in Germany would be
