Wars waged by mankind are known for being beyond terrifying for those fighting for their countries. However, modern wars tend to have civilians just as afraid as the soldiers who take part in battle. World War II marked a time in world history where war truly changed by bringing about the invention of the atomic bomb. Nuclear power used within an atomic bomb is created from highly reactive, manmade elements that are not meant to be handled without protection. These sensitive materials lead to any and everything within reach being harmed following detonation. Nuclear blasts are responsible for many immediate and residual medical issues including burns, genetic mutations, and cancers that can lead to physical ailments due to their release of
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One of the most easily recognizable effects of nuclear blasts are the burns sustained by humans. Nuclear explosions lead to extremely high temperatures which, in turn, leads to the formation of a fireball made up of hot, fiery gas which releases a flash of thermal radiation that spreads over a large area (“Nuclear Weapons”). Following testing of bombs, it was determined that “the infrared [or heat] flash of even a small atomic bomb can be felt on the skin ten miles away” (“The Effects”). This is dangerous due to the fact that thermal radiation being given access to exposed skin can lead to flash burns, which are burns caused by exposure to intense light (“Nuclear Weapons”). Usually, “flash burns occur only when the bare skin is directly exposed, or if the clothing is too thin to absorb the thermal radiation” due to the fact that most opaque objects provide protection from the heat radiation (“Nuclear Weapons”). However, living tissue not properly protected from the radiation released during nuclear blasts can be penetrated deeply which can cause damage to said tissue (“The Effects”). For example, “naval officers [reported] that after a five-megaton American test in the Pacific, they had a ‘tan-line’ around their military dogtags, even though they were [twenty-five] miles from the blast” (“The …show more content…
When large nuclear bombs are detonated, the radioactive residues rise up along with the mushroom cloud produced in the explosion and spread gradually over a large area leading to many living organisms absorbing the radioactive elements which effects the food chain and therefore humans (“The Effects”). This is mainly because nuclear explosions will often pick up earth and water, take them up in the mushroom cloud, and then drop them down throughout the area effected leading to nuclear fallout (“Nuclear Weapons”). This is not good for humans because “the nature of radioactivity […] and the immense areas containable by a single bomb undoubtedly make radioactive fallout potentially one of the most lethal effects of nuclear weapons” (“Nuclear Weapons”). Nuclear fallout leads to “residual radiation” or “gamma rays from fission products deposited on the ground and from radioactivity induced by neutrons in the soil and walls of buildings” which can cause an area to remain radioactive long after the blast itself has taken place which leads to humans still being effected for years to come (“The
One of the most easily recognizable effects of nuclear blasts are the burns sustained by humans. Nuclear explosions lead to extremely high temperatures which, in turn, leads to the formation of a fireball made up of hot, fiery gas which releases a flash of thermal radiation that spreads over a large area (“Nuclear Weapons”). Following testing of bombs, it was determined that “the infrared [or heat] flash of even a small atomic bomb can be felt on the skin ten miles away” (“The Effects”). This is dangerous due to the fact that thermal radiation being given access to exposed skin can lead to flash burns, which are burns caused by exposure to intense light (“Nuclear Weapons”). Usually, “flash burns occur only when the bare skin is directly exposed, or if the clothing is too thin to absorb the thermal radiation” due to the fact that most opaque objects provide protection from the heat radiation (“Nuclear Weapons”). However, living tissue not properly protected from the radiation released during nuclear blasts can be penetrated deeply which can cause damage to said tissue (“The Effects”). For example, “naval officers [reported] that after a five-megaton American test in the Pacific, they had a ‘tan-line’ around their military dogtags, even though they were [twenty-five] miles from the blast” (“The …show more content…
When large nuclear bombs are detonated, the radioactive residues rise up along with the mushroom cloud produced in the explosion and spread gradually over a large area leading to many living organisms absorbing the radioactive elements which effects the food chain and therefore humans (“The Effects”). This is mainly because nuclear explosions will often pick up earth and water, take them up in the mushroom cloud, and then drop them down throughout the area effected leading to nuclear fallout (“Nuclear Weapons”). This is not good for humans because “the nature of radioactivity […] and the immense areas containable by a single bomb undoubtedly make radioactive fallout potentially one of the most lethal effects of nuclear weapons” (“Nuclear Weapons”). Nuclear fallout leads to “residual radiation” or “gamma rays from fission products deposited on the ground and from radioactivity induced by neutrons in the soil and walls of buildings” which can cause an area to remain radioactive long after the blast itself has taken place which leads to humans still being effected for years to come (“The