Thread: Nuclear Blasts
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Old 02-25-2009, 06:32 PM
Grimace Grimace is offline
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Okay, I dug up information that T.R. and I had collected regarding nuke blasts. Here's a basis for a rough breakdown.

Vaporization Point
------------------
Everything is vaporized by the atomic blast. 98% fatalities.
Overpress=25 psi. Wind velocity=320 mph.

Total Destruction
-----------------
All structures above ground are destroyed. 90% fatalities.
Overpress=17 psi. Wind velocity=290 mph.

Severe Blast Damage
-------------------
Factories and other large-scale building collapse. Severe damage
to highway bridges. Rivers sometimes flow countercurrent.
65% fatalities, 30% injured.
Overpress=9 psi. Wind velocity=260 mph.

Severe Heat Damage
------------------
Everything flammable burns. People in the area suffocate due to
the fact that most available oxygen is consumed by the fires.
50% fatalities, 45% injured.
Overpress=6 psi. Wind velocity=140 mph.

Severe Fire & Wind Damage
-------------------------
Residency structures are severely damaged. People are blown
around. 2nd and 3rd-degree burns suffered by most survivors.
15% dead. 50% injured.
Overpress=3 psi. Wind velocity=98 mph.

For a 1 MT airburst of 8,000 feet, we have the following ranges for those 5 zones.

Zone 1: 2.5 mile radius
zone 2: 3.75 mile radius
Zone 3: 6.5 mile radius
Zone 4: 7.75 mile radius
Zone 5: 10 mile radius

Now considering that things are undergoing 98 mile per hour winds at 10 miles from the blast, it's not too hard of a stretch to say that things 15 miles away would be subjected to high winds. You're probably looking at 30-50 mile per hour winds at that distance. Likewise, since 2nd and 3rd degree burns will be occuring at 10 miles, it's safe to assume you'll have enough heat to ignite some things at 15 miles as well. Sure it won't be conflagrations, but a fire here and there that isn't dealt with by emergency responders soon develop into bigger and nastier fires. One house that catches fire catches another house, and another house, and an office building and so on. Throw wind into the mix, and those fires get pushed for miles more.

So looking at damage 15 miles from the point of detonation isn't that much of a stretch. There will still be some structures standing at that range, but there's also going to be burnt out buildings, collapsed buildings from fire, scorched vehicles that go caught in the path of a fire, and so on.

Hopefully this helps some.
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