In the modern world, the headlines of many news publications are full of the words "Nuclear Threat." It scares many, and even more people have no idea what to do if it 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 released by them 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 an atom consists of smaller particles that have a certain energy.
In 1937, Irene Curie with his student discovered and described the process of fission of the uranium atom. And already in the early 1940s in the United States, a group of scientists developed the principles of a nuclear explosion. The Alamogordo training ground 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. Residents of these settlements did not even imagine the threat of a nuclear explosion. As 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. Thus, the government of the country simply decided to demonstrate its power to the whole world. Fortunately, at the moment this is the only case of using such a powerful weapon of mass destruction.
Until 1947, this country was the only one that possessed the knowledge and technology for the production of atomic bombs. But in 1947, the USSR caught up with them, thanks to the successful development of a group of scientists led by academician Kurchatov. After that, the arms race began. The US was in a hurry to create thermonuclear bombs as quickly as possible, the first of which had a capacity 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 such weapons.
Today, the threat of a global nuclear war is constantly in the air. Although dozens of amicable 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 more and more 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?
The use of atomic energy is based on the rapid fission of the heavy nuclei that make up radioactive elements. These include, in particular, uranium and plutonium. And if the first one is found in the natural environment and the world is producing it, the second is obtained only by special synthesizing it in special reactors. Since nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes, the activities of such reactors are monitored internationally by a special IAEA commission.
According to the place where the bombs can explode, they are divided into:
- airborne (an explosion occurs in the atmosphere above the surface of the earth);
- ground and surface (the bomb directly touches their surface);
- underground and underwater (bombing occurs in deep layers of soil and water).
The nuclear threat also scares people by the fact that during the bombing, several damaging factors act:
- A destructive shock wave that sweeps away everything in its path.
- Powerful light radiation passing into thermal energy.
- Penetrating radiation, from which only special shelters can protect.
- Radioactive contamination of the area, threatening living organisms for a long time after the explosion itself.
- 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 blow, it is almost impossible to escape from it. That is why the threat of using nuclear weapons is so scary for modern people. Next, we will examine in more detail how each of the damaging factors described above affects a person.
Shock wave
This is the first thing a person will face when the threat of a nuclear strike is realized. It is practically no different in nature from an ordinary blast wave. But with an atomic bomb, it lasts longer and spreads over considerable distances. And her destruction power is significant.
At its core, it is an area of air compression that spreads very quickly in all directions from the epicenter of an explosion. For example, she needs only 2 seconds to cover the distance of 1 km from the center of her education. Then the speed starts to fall, and in 8 seconds it will reach only 3 km mark.
The speed of air movement and its pressure just determine its main destructive force. Debris of buildings, glass fragments, pieces of trees and pieces of equipment that met on its way fly along with the air. And if a person somehow managed to avoid being damaged by the shock wave itself, there is a big chance that he will be hurt by something that she will bring with herself.
Also, the destructive power of the shock wave depends on the place where the bomb was detonated. The most dangerous is considered airborne, the most sparing - underground.
She has one more 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 come back. This is an extremely important point that is important to know to protect against its damaging effects.
Light emission
This is directed energy in the form of rays, which consist of the visible spectrum, ultraviolet radiation and infrared waves. Firstly, it is able to affect the organs of vision (until it is completely lost), 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 goes into heat. And if a person managed to protect his eyes, then exposed skin can get burns, as from fire or boiling water. It is so powerful that it can ignite everything that burns, and melt - 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 health in order to admire this "beauty". If there is a real nuclear threat, it is best to defend against 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 substances. Passing through them, they give up part of their energy, dispersing 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 adversely affects living things. 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 affected area, while weaker ammunition can destroy radiation in large areas. This is due to the fact that the latter emit radiation, which has the property of charging particles around itself and transmitting this quality to them. Therefore, what used to be safe becomes a source of deadly radiation leading to radiation sickness.
Now we know what radiation is a threat during a nuclear explosion. But the zone of its action depends on the place of this explosion itself. Underground and underwater sites of bomb detonation are safer, since the environment is able to absorb a wave of radiation, significantly reducing its propagation zone. It is for this reason that modern tests of such weapons are conducted below the surface of the earth.
It is important to know not only what radiation is a threat during nuclear, but also what dose carries a real health risk. The unit of measurement is considered to be x-ray (p). If a person receives a dose of 100-200 r, then he will have radiation sickness of the first degree. 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. In this case, a person will need specific therapy, but he has great chances to survive. But a dose of more than 300 r often causes a fatal outcome. Almost all organs are affected in a patient. He is shown more symptomatic therapy, because it is rather difficult to cure radiation sickness of the third degree.
Radioactive contamination
In nuclear physics there is the concept of half-life of matter. So, at the time 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 their fission and emit penetrating radiation.
Induced radioactivity can also be used in ammunition. This means that the bombs were specially designed so that after the explosion, substances capable of emitting radiation are formed in the soil and on its surface, which is an additional damaging factor. But he acts only a couple of hours and in the immediate vicinity of the epicenter of the explosion.
The bulk of the particles of matter, which constitutes the main danger of radioactive contamination, rises in the cloud of the explosion several kilometers up, unless it is underground. There, with atmospheric phenomena, they spread to large areas, which poses an additional threat even to those people who remain far from the epicenter of the incident. Often, living organisms inhale or swallow these substances, thereby earning radiation sickness. After all, after getting into the body, radioactive particles act directly on the organs, killing them.
Electromagnetic pulse
Since the explosion is the release of a huge amount of energy, part of it is electric. This creates an electromagnetic pulse that lasts a short time. It destroys everything that is somehow connected with electricity.
It acts weakly on the human body, since it does not diverge far from the epicenter of the explosion. And if at this moment people are there, then they are affected by more terrible damaging factors.
Now you understand the terrible threat of a nuclear explosion. But the facts described above concern only one bomb. If someone uses this weapon, most likely, the same gift will “fly” to him in response. Not so much ammunition is needed to make our planet unsuitable for life. That is the real threat. Nuclear weapons in the world are enough to destroy everything around.
From theory to practice
Above, we described what could happen if an atomic bomb explodes somewhere. Its destructive and damaging abilities are hard to overestimate. But describing the theory, we did not take into account one very important factor - politics. The world's most powerful countries hold nuclear weapons in their arsenal in order to frighten their potential opponents with a possible retaliatory strike and show that they themselves may 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 ever more acute. Today, the main aggressors are Iran and the DPRK, which do not allow members of the IAEA to their nuclear facilities. This suggests that they are building up their combat power. Let’s see which countries pose a real nuclear threat in the modern world.
It all started with the USA
The first atomic bombs, their first tests and their use, were connected specifically with the United States of America. They wanted to show the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that they had become a country to be reckoned with, otherwise they could launch their bombs.
From the 40s of the last century to the present day, the US has been forced to take them into account when aligning forces on the political map, thanks in large part 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 became the cause of the tragedy, when atomic bombs were almost launched by mistake towards the USSR, from where the “answer” would immediately have flown.
Therefore, to prevent disaster, all US nuclear threats are immediately regulated by the international community, so that a terrible disaster does not begin.
Russian Federation
Russia has largely become the heiress of the collapsed USSR. It was this state that was the first, and perhaps the only one, to openly oppose the United States. Yes, the Union for the development of such weapons of mass destruction was slightly behind the American ones, but even this already made us 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 its arsenal as a powerful argument in the political threats from the United States and Western countries.
At the same time, constant development of new types of weapons is underway, in which some politicians see Russia's nuclear threat to America. But the official representatives of this country openly declare that they are not afraid of missiles from the Russian Federation, since they have an excellent missile defense system. It is hard to imagine what really happens between the rulers of these two states, because official statements are often far from the real state of things.
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, a decision was made to destroy the dangerous heritage. In exchange for Ukraine’s consent to disarm, the strongest countries promised her their help in protecting sovereignty if there would be encroachments from the outside.
Unfortunately for her, this memorandum was signed by some countries, which later became in an open confrontation. Therefore, to say that this agreement is valid today is quite difficult.
Iranian program
When the United States began active operations in the Middle East, Iran decided to defend itself against them by creating its own nuclear program, which included enriching uranium, which can be used not only as fuel for power plants, but also to create warheads.
The world community has done everything to curtail this program, because the whole world is against the fact that more and more new models of weapons of mass destruction appear. By signing several third-party treaties, Iran agreed that the problem of the threat of nuclear war had become quite acute. Therefore, the program itself was curtailed.
At the same time, it can always be thawed. This is subject to blackmail from Iran by the entire world community. I react particularly sharply in Tehran to certain US actions against this eastern country. Therefore, the nuclear threat from Iran is still relevant, because its leaders say that they have "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, claims that scientists have already managed to create warheads that can fit on intercontinental missiles that will easily reach US territory. It is difficult to say whether this is true or not, since the country is in political and economic isolation.
North Korea is required to curtail all development and testing of new weapons. They are also asked to allow the IAEA commission to study the situation with the use of radioactive substances. To encourage DPRK to act, sanctions are introduced. And Pyongyang really responds to them: it is conducting new tests that have been repeatedly detected from orbiting satellites. More than once in the news, the thought slipped through that Korea could start a war at some point, but it was possible to restrain it through agreements.
It’s hard to say how this confrontation will end, especially after Donald Trump took over as US President. That American, that the Korean leader is unpredictable. Therefore, any action that seems threatening the country can lead to the start of a third (and this time last) world war.
