Scientists began to deal with the issues of assessing the consequences of a possible nuclear war only in 1982.

It is known that nuclear war scenarios can be different, so the most probable ones have been selected. If we consider the most “sparing” options for a large-scale nuclear war, when about 40% of the available nuclear weapons with a total capacity of approximately 5000 Mt are detonated in the northern hemisphere within a few days, then there will be the following consequences, which most scientists of the world agree with:

1. Direct losses from damaging factors of nuclear explosions. In the first days, approximately 1 billion 150 million people will die, the same number will be seriously injured, of which at least 70% will die. Taking into account radioactive contamination, the losses will amount to 30-50% of the world's population.

2. A “nuclear night” will come due to the smoke and dust raised into the atmosphere. Since in this case the flow of solar energy will be blocked by 90%. "Nuclear night" will last in the northern hemisphere from 1.5 to 8 months, in the southern - from 1 to 4. Photosynthesis will stop both on earth and in the oceans.
As a result, all food chains will be disrupted: plants will die, then animals, and hunger will come for humanity.

3. The "nuclear winter" will come. The temperature will drop in the northern hemisphere by 30–43 0 C (according to the scientists of the USSR - by
15–20 0 С), in the southern - by 15–20 0 С. crops, the earth will freeze to a depth of 1 m, there will be no fresh water, famine will come.

4. As a result of climate change, natural disasters will increase in various parts of the world, especially storms, hurricanes, droughts and floods.

5. There will be fires. Forests (sources of oxygen and utilization of carbon dioxide) will burn out on an area of ​​at least 1 million square kilometers. Fires in cities will cause the release of toxic gases in concentrations that will lead to the poisoning of all living things. The gas composition of the atmosphere will change with unpredictable consequences for the biological world.

6. The ozone layer will decrease by 17-70%. It will take at least 10 years to restore it. During this time, the sun's ultraviolet radiation will be 100 times more intense than under normal conditions, and it is detrimental to all living things.

Severe genetic consequences are expected, the mass death of people and animals from cancer, the degeneration of mankind. True, in the first months after nuclear strikes, the ultraviolet radiation of the Sun will be absorbed by dust and soot, and its influence will be insignificant.

7. According to the Swedish Academy of Sciences, due to the lack of fuel, drinking water, hunger, the collapse of medical care, etc. pandemics will occur with unpredictable consequences.

If a nuclear war starts on the planet, as a result of which explosions of nuclear bombs occur, this will lead to thermal radiation, as well as radioactive fallout of a local nature. Indirect consequences, such as the destruction of energy distribution systems, communication systems and social fabrics, are likely to lead to serious problems.

Influence of consequences of nuclear war on freshwater ecosystems. Probable climatic changes will make the ecosystem of continental reservoirs vulnerable. Reservoirs that contain fresh water are divided into two types: flowing (streams and rivers) and stagnant (lakes and ponds). A sharp drop in temperature and a decrease in precipitation will affect the rapid reduction in the amount of fresh water that is stored in lakes and rivers. Groundwater will be affected less noticeably and more slowly. The quality of lakes is determined by their nutrient content, underlying rocks, size, bottom substrates, amount of precipitation and other parameters. The main indicators of the response of freshwater systems to climate change are the likely decrease in temperature and decrease in insolation. The leveling of temperature fluctuations is predominantly expressed in large reservoirs with fresh water. However, fresh water ecosystems, unlike the ocean, are forced to suffer significantly from temperature changes, as a consequence of the fact that a nuclear war will occur. The possibility of exposure to low temperatures over a long period can lead to the formation of a thick layer of ice on the surface of water bodies. As a result, the surface of a shallow lake will be covered with a significant layer of ice, covering most of its territory. It should be noted that most of the lakes, from among those that are known and accessible to man, are listed as small. Such reservoirs are in a group that will be subject to freezing almost to the entire depth. Changes in climatic conditions will lead to longer-term and serious consequences of a nuclear war. In the course of this development, light and temperature return to their original levels, during the period of approaching winter. If a nuclear war occurs in winter and causes climatic disturbances during this period, in places where the water of the lakes has a normal temperature, approximately zero, this will entail an increase in ice cover. The threat to shallow lakes is too obvious, since water may freeze to the very bottom, which will lead to the death of the main number of living microorganisms. Thus, real climatic disturbances in winter will affect freshwater ecosystems that do not freeze under normal conditions, and will lead to very serious biological consequences. Current climate disturbances, which began in the spring or were delayed as a result of a nuclear war, could delay the melting process. With the advent of frost at the end of the spring period, it is possible that the global death of the living components of ecosystems will occur under the influence of a decrease in temperature and a decrease in illumination. If the temperature drops to below zero in summer, the consequences may not be so devastating, because much of the development of life cycles will be behind. Next spring, the duration of the impact will be especially acute. Climate disturbances in autumn will lead to the least consequences for the ecosystem of northern water bodies, because at that time all living organisms will have time to go through the stages of reproduction. Even if the number of phytoplankton, invertebrates and decomposers decreases to a minimum level, this is not the end of the world, as soon as the climate returns to normal, they will be reborn.

Consequences of a nuclear war. As a result of the analysis of data on the susceptibility of ecosystems to the consequences that a nuclear war will entail on the ecological environment, the following conclusions become obvious:

The planet's ecosystems are vulnerable to extreme climate disturbances. However, not the same, but depending on their geographical location, the type of system and the time of year in which the disturbances occur. As a result of the synergy of causes and the spread of their impact from one ecosystem to another, shifts occur much larger than could be expected with a separate action of disturbances. In the case when atmospheric pollution, radiation and an increase in UV radiation act separately, they do not lead to large-scale catastrophic consequences. But if these factors appear at the same time, the result can be detrimental to ecosystems with a sensitive nature due to its synergy, which is comparable to the end of the world for living organisms. If a nuclear war happens, the fires that arose as a result of the exchange of atomic bombs can occupy a significant part of the territory.

The revival of ecosystems after the impact of climatic cataclysms of the acute stage, following a nuclear war on a huge scale, will depend on the level of adaptation to natural disturbances. In some types of ecosystems, the primary damage can be quite large, and renewal is slow, and absolute revival to the original untouched state is generally impossible.

Episodic radioactive fallout can have an important degree of impact on ecosystems.

Significant temperature fluctuations can cause very high damage, even if they last for a short period of time. The ecosystem of the seas is vulnerable enough for a long-term decrease in illumination. To describe biological responses to stresses on a planetary scale, it is necessary to develop the next generation of ecosystem models and create a capacious database on their individual components and all ecosystems in general, subject to various experimental disturbances. It has been a long time since important attempts were made to experimentally describe the effects of nuclear war and its effect on biological circuits. Today, this problem is one of the most important that met on the path of human existence.

There are three possible global effects of a global nuclear conflict. The first of them is "nuclear winter" and "nuclear night", when the temperature all over the globe will drop sharply by tens of degrees, and the illumination will be less than on a moonless night. Life on Earth will be cut off from its main energy source - sunlight. The second consequence is the radioactive contamination of the planet as a result of the destruction of nuclear power plants, radioactive waste storage facilities. And finally, the third factor is global hunger. Years of nuclear war will lead to a sharp drop in agricultural crops. The very nature of the impact of a large-scale nuclear war on the environment is such that no matter how and when it starts, the end result is the same - a global biospheric catastrophe.

Numerous nuclear explosions will lead to thermal radiation and local radioactive fallout. Indirect consequences can also be very serious, such as the destruction of communications, energy distribution systems and public institutions.

I had a dream... not everything in it was a dream.

The bright sun went out - and the stars

Wandering aimlessly, without rays

In space eternal; icy ground

Worn blindly in the moonless air.

The hour of the morning came and went,

But he did not bring the day after him ...

Darkness, George Byron

According to the theory of the demographer of the era of romanticism, T. Malthus, the birth rate of any kind increases exponentially, while the food supply grows only in arithmetic progression, that is, much more slowly. War is one of the natural and most likely means of controlling the birth rate and the size of humanity.

Today, the planet is already overpopulated - 6.8 billion people live on it, and almost a billion of them are continuously hungry. Wars take place regularly, and they are still going on now, even in states close to Europe, such as, for example, in neighboring, heavily overpopulated and poor Ukraine.

But, there are no global wars affecting all of humanity, and even with the use of weapons of mass destruction. It is too dangerous and governments are trying to avoid such conflicts as best they can. But, known for almost half a century, somewhat playful, and in many ways the correct Murphy's law says - if something can happen, it will definitely happen. Moreover, events will go according to the worst scenario for us. It turns out that nuclear war could happen one day.

Several times in a row humanity has already avoided a nuclear apocalypse. Today, when there are already a lot of countries possessing the technology of creating atomic (hydrogen, neutron) bombs and their means of delivery, and humanity, it would seem, should be a thousand times more careful, the most acute international political crisis is developing again, associated with the already mentioned war in Ukraine, which may, in the end, lead, if not to the apocalypse, then to a local nuclear conflict.

I personally have no doubt that if the Ukrainian strategists had a "nuclear button" at hand, they would not hesitate to use it. Remember Yulia Tymoshenko’s phrase that Russians “should be shot with nuclear weapons” or the words of the former Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Valery Heletey, who, in an interview, suggested that during the storming of the Lugansk airport “Russian troops” (which, of course, he , did not see) fired nuclear mines from a self-propelled mortar 2S4 "Tulip".

But the former prime minister, like the former minister of defense, is the elite of Ukrainian society. If there were others in their place, they would not even argue. At the same time, the words “thrown into the world” about nuclear weapons look like an attempt to seek protection from the West and ... help with an “adequate response”?

In this regard, it is worth remembering the previous situations that almost ended in fatal consequences for humanity.

Operation Trojan

The first nuclear attack - on the Japanese cities - Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was conceived and carried out by the United States of America. At the same time, in 1945, a secret directive of the Joint Military Planning Committee appeared on the preparation of an atomic bombing of large cities in the territory of the USSR. They were supposed to drop 196! atomic bombs.

When the USSR nevertheless managed to steal and create its own technology for the production of nuclear weapons, the United States developed the Trojan plan, which involved an attack on the USSR on the new year, January 1, 1950. The nuclear arsenal of the Soviet Union was then much more modest than the American one, and the Washington hawks were almost sure of victory. So, it is quite likely that the USSR could already then become a testing ground for full-scale tests of American bombs. Yes, but the Americans calculated in time that they would lose half of their bombers, and the plan would not be fully implemented. That's what kept them back. By the way, there is an opinion that the world was saved by one of the first supercomputers in the world ENIAK, which was involved by the Pentagon in calculating the results of the operation.

And later, in 1961, after testing the Tsar Bomba AN 602 in the USSR, the United States abandoned the idea of ​​a preventive nuclear strike.

Khrushchev, Kennedy and the art of diplomacy

The world came to the brink of destruction for the second time as a result of the Cuban Missile Crisis, in October 1962. Then, in response to the deployment of medium-range missiles in Turkey, the USSR installed R-12 tactical nuclear missiles in Cuba. The United States, in response, organized a naval blockade of Cuba and began preparations for an invasion of the island.

Only thanks to the magnificent art of diplomacy shown by both sides of the conflict, the war was avoided. But then the USSR had practically no chance in front of the US military machine. If we talk only about missiles, then the country had 75 ballistic missiles ready for launch - not reliable enough, requiring lengthy pre-launch preparation. Moreover, only 25 missiles could take off at the same time. The United States already had 700 ballistic missiles then. In terms of other weapons, the forces were also not equal, it seemed to be anti-missile defense.

Are the forces equal?

Now Russia has a serious nuclear potential, which is sufficient to deter any aggression. According to a military expert, a former head of Israeli intelligence, even in the event of a local exchange of nuclear strikes, the damage to the United States would be unbearable. That is why a direct war between the two largest possessors of nuclear weapons, Russia and the United States, has been postponed for the time being.

Quite another matter is local conflicts. Today, many states with developing economies, such as Pakistan and India, have already joined the "nuclear" club. North Korea has received its "bomb" and is preparing to join the "nuclear club" and orthodox Iran.

That is why there is a danger that a local conflict will break out somewhere, which will draw the largest nuclear powers into its orbit. And here already - expect trouble.

And, of course, you can use conventional weapons. The United States, for example, is now ready to fight with non-nuclear, but only precision-guided weapons. According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, the concept of a lightning-fast "global strike" has been worked out in the United States for more than ten years. It provides for "strike with non-nuclear weapons at any point on the planet within one hour." "According to the results of the war game held at the Pentagon at the end of last year, with the help of 3.5-4 thousand units of precision-guided weapons, the United States can destroy the main infrastructure facilities of the enemy in 6 hours and deprive him of the ability to resist."

If such a strike is inflicted on Russia, then the main targets will be the forces of strategic nuclear deterrence. "According to current US expert estimates, such a strike could destroy 80 to 90 percent of our nuclear potential," the Deputy Prime Minister said.

Nevertheless, Russia, of course, will respond with a nuclear strike...

If there is a war...

Thousands of fiction and research books have been written on the topic of the post-nuclear apocalypse, hundreds of films have been shot. Directors and writers see the apocalypse in different ways, but they are united in one thing - people, in their opinion, will be able to survive on earth. But such an interpretation requires the plot. And how will it really be?

There are several theories today about what the post-nuclear world will be like. According to a study by American scientists Owen, Robock and Turco, who tried to simulate a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons between India and Pakistan, 6.6 million tons of soot will be released into the atmosphere. This will reduce the average temperature on Earth by 1.25 degrees Celsius. Radioactive fallout will fall all over the world for some time, causing people to die and become seriously ill even in countries that are prosperous and remote from conflict.

About a billion people will die from radioactive contamination and lack of medical care, and as a result of a decrease in productivity in the world (due to early post-nuclear frosts, lower temperatures and reduced rainfall), the number of hungry on the planet will increase by another one and a half billion (today 850 million are starving on the planet). of people). The cost of food will rise substantially all over the world. Such a scenario is called "nuclear fall" by scientists. But this, as they say, is still “flowers”.

Option one

A number of scientists believe that if Russia and the United States “clash” in a nuclear conflict, a nuclear winter will begin, humanity may die, and the existence of higher forms of life on our planet will be impossible. Such conclusions, at one time, were independently reached by scientists V. V. Aleksandrov and G. S. Stenchikov in 1983, in the USSR and the team of Carl Sagan from Cornell University in the USA.

Thousands of nuclear explosions will lift hundreds of millions of tons of earth, dust and soot from fires into the air. Cities will die from fiery tornadoes that will give rise to fires. They say that the height of such a tornado can reach five kilometers, it draws in everything that comes across and does not end until everything around it burns to the ground.

Fine dust from tornadoes will enter the troposphere, and since there is no convection there, the dust will “hang” for years, obscuring sunlight. Sun. Darkness descends on the earth. In the middle of summer, even in the tropics there will be frosts. The ground will freeze several meters deep, the rains will stop. Due to the temperature difference between the slowly cooling water in the ocean and the heated land, unprecedented storms will begin.

But to feel and see all this, according to the authors of the hypothesis, there will be, in general, no one. No one will see the nuclear spring. Plants, animals and insects that did not die from the explosions will be burned by radiation, the rest will die out from lack of food and water. The surface of unfrozen rivers, seas, and after a while slowly cooling oceans will be littered with terribly stinking fish and dead marine animals, even plankton will die.

All food chains will be broken. Perhaps some lower forms of life will remain on the planet - protozoa, moss, lichens. But the higher ones - including, by the way, rats and cockroaches - will die.

Theory two - alternative

It is described in detail in the article by I. Ibduragimov "On the failure of the concept of "nuclear night" and "nuclear winter" due to fires after a nuclear defeat."

The main postulate that attracts attention is that hundreds of nuclear tests have already been carried out, which did not give a cumulative effect, did not create fire tornadoes and did not emit thousands of tons of dust into the atmosphere. Moreover, the explosions of the largest volcanoes on the planet, the power of which is many times greater than the power of any man-made nuclear devices. And the dust did not close the atmosphere, although its emissions were monstrous. The earth's atmosphere is too large to be polluted completely even as a result of a nuclear war.

A situation similar to that which, according to the authors of the hypothesis, causes fire tornadoes in cities, also arises as a result of large-scale forest fires, when millions of square kilometers of forest are burning simultaneously. But tornadoes are not observed there, and the emission of soot as a result of such fires is ten times less than calculated by the creators of the "nuclear winter" theory. Why? The combustible mass is distributed over a large area, and not concentrated in one place. Approximately the same will be in cities, where combustible substances, as if on shelves, are laid out in different places in apartments and buildings. In this case, up to 20% of all combustible materials are burned - and no more. There is not enough energy for more, even the biggest fire. This means that there may not be fiery tornadoes that will fill the troposphere with dust.

Even if a firestorm does form, there will be a powerful flow of air into the turbulence zone, the combustion efficiency will increase and ... there will be much less soot. Not to mention the fact that in the epicenters of a nuclear explosion and at a certain distance from them, almost everything will burn out, without any soot.

Now - about radiation. Of course, radioactive contamination is extremely dangerous and fatal to humans. And this terrible threat will not disappear anywhere. But still, people, even now, manage to survive in conditions of increased background radiation, for example, in the Chernobyl zone, where I myself have been. In the summer, unless, of course, you know about the infection, any traveler will be shocked by the beauty of the untouched nature of these places. Vegetation is raging in the zone, many animals, reservoirs are teeming with fish. So, at least, the flora and fauna there didn’t exactly disappear anywhere - they adapted.

It turns out, in principle, that there may not be a nuclear winter at all? Quite. There is a hypothesis that the “nuclear winter” studies, carried out and popularized in the 1980s, were inspired by the intelligence of the United States and the USSR in order to delay a nuclear war and (or) stimulate disarmament and keep the conflicting parties from increasing the production of nuclear weapons. The technology of such manipulations is called "Overton Window" and is a Western development, which also leads to certain reflections.

A real "nuclear war" may be a difficult and inevitable episode in the development of mankind, but by no means fatal. It, like the consequences of the “nuclear winter”, can be experienced in places unaffected by strikes or, for example, in appropriate bunkers.

Survive in the bunker

Modern studies (more precisely, full-scale tests) show that as a result of nuclear explosions (they will be immediately crushed by a seismic wave), only those underground shelters that will be less than a hundred meters from the epicenters.

Therefore, in well-equipped underground concrete bunkers, a fairly large number of people can survive for a long time - maybe even thousands. Even if at first they have nowhere to go out, if it is impossible to be outside due to dust and radioactive contamination, it is possible to hold out in such a shelter for up to a decade (and more nuclear winter is unlikely to continue).

According to the writer Dmitry Glukhovsky, people will be able to survive even somewhere in the subway and underground utilities. Although this is a very controversial statement. Tunnels exist thanks to a developed infrastructure for their repair and maintenance. Even if there is a terrorist attack or a disaster, for the metro it is a tragedy with casualties and destruction. And without supervision, after a while, the subway tunnels will begin to deteriorate and collapse on their own ... Fuel reserves in non-specialized underground structures will not last long. If there is ventilation with anti-radiation filters, this is, of course, good, but it will also not last long without repair. In short, this scenario needs to be carefully tested by the "mythbusters" Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage.

The only problem that can arise in the confined space of a bunker or subway tunnel is social relationships. There will be nowhere to go from the bunker, therefore, the strongest may well become the leader there - for example, the head of security or the senior officer on duty. And he will force all the rest to obey him by force and threats. And arrange a nightmare, worse than what will happen upstairs. For example, he will create a harem of wives and daughters of elderly politicians who are trying to wait out the nuclear nightmare. Someone living underground may not stand it, go crazy or break loose and kill someone or everyone who is in the bunker. This is especially likely if there will be social inequality between different groups of people.

Perhaps, to the reader, such an assumption will seem like a mocking satire, but unfortunately, it is quite real.

It is not obvious how reliable the connection between such a bunker and the survivors outside will be. This social paradox was hinted at in his book "Parabellum" by the notorious Alexander Zinoviev.

Better in peace...

Of course, it is best if the horrors of nuclear war bypass us. And without this nightmare, the life of mankind is difficult and full of dangers. Still, it's better to remember what might happen one day...

On July 16, 1945, an event occurred at the US Air Force Base in New Mexico that changed the entire subsequent history of mankind. At 5:30 local time, the world's first nuclear bomb Gadget was detonated here, with a capacity of 20 kilotons of TNT. According to eyewitnesses, the brightness of the explosion far exceeded the sunlight at noon, and the mushroom-shaped cloud reached a height of 11 kilometers in just five minutes. These successful tests marked the beginning of a new era for mankind - nuclear. Literally in a few months, the power and fury of the created weapons will be fully experienced by the inhabitants of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The Americans did not have a monopoly on the nuclear bomb for long, and the next four decades became a period of bitter confrontation between the US and the USSR, which entered the history books under the name of the Cold War. Nuclear weapons are still the most important strategic factor that everyone has to reckon with. Today, the elite nuclear club actually includes eight states, and several other countries are seriously engaged in the creation of nuclear weapons. Most of the charges are in the arsenal of the United States and Russia.

What is a nuclear explosion? What are they, and what is the physics of a nuclear explosion? Is modern nuclear weapons different from the charges that were dropped on Japanese cities seventy years ago? And most importantly: what are the main damaging factors of a nuclear explosion and is it possible to protect yourself from their effects? All this will be discussed in this article.

From the history of this issue

The end of the 19th and the first quarter of the 20th century became a period of unprecedented breakthroughs and amazing accomplishments for nuclear physics. By the mid-1930s, scientists had made almost all the theoretical discoveries that made it possible to create a nuclear charge. In the early 1930s, the atomic nucleus was first split, and in 1934 the Hungarian physicist Szilard patented the design of a nuclear reactor.

In 1938, three German scientists - Fritz Strassmann, Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner - discovered the process of splitting uranium by bombarding it with neutrons. This was the last stop on the way to Hiroshima, and soon the French physicist Frederic Joliot-Curie received a patent for the design of a uranium bomb. In 1941, Fermi completed the theory of a nuclear chain reaction.

At this time, the world was inexorably sliding into a new global war, so the research of scientists aimed at creating weapons of unprecedented crushing power could not go unnoticed. Great interest in such studies was shown by the leadership of Nazi Germany. Possessing an excellent scientific school, this country could well be the first to create nuclear weapons. This prospect greatly alarmed leading scientists, most of whom were extremely anti-German. In August 1939, Albert Einstein, at the request of his friend Szilard, wrote a letter to the President of the United States, where he pointed out the danger of Hitler having a nuclear bomb. The result of this correspondence was first the Uranium Committee, and then the Manhattan Project, which led to the creation of American nuclear weapons. In 1945, the United States already had three bombs: the plutonium "Thing" (Gadget) and "Fat Boy" (Fat boy), as well as the uranium "Baby" (Little boy). The "parents" of American nuclear weapons are Fermi and Oppenheimer.

On July 16, 1945, the “Thing” was blown up at the test site in New Mexico, and already in August, the “Kid” and “Fat Man” were dropped on Japanese cities. The results of the bombing exceeded all expectations of the military.

In 1949, nuclear weapons appeared in the Soviet Union. In 1952, the Americans first tested the first device based on nuclear fusion reactions, not decay. Soon a thermonuclear bomb was created in the USSR.

In 1954, the Americans blew up a device with the equivalent of 15 megatons of TNT. But the most powerful nuclear explosion in history took place a few years later - a fifty-megaton Tsar Bomba was blown up on Novaya Zemlya.

Fortunately, both the USSR and the US quickly realized what a large-scale nuclear war could lead to. Therefore, in 1967, the superpowers signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Later, a number of agreements related to this area were developed: SALT-I and SALT-II, START-I and START-II, etc.

Nuclear explosions in the USSR were carried out on Novaya Zemlya and in Kazakhstan, the Americans tested their nuclear weapons at a test site in Nevada. In 1996, they adopted an agreement banning any testing of nuclear weapons.

How is an atomic bomb made?

A nuclear explosion is a chaotic process of releasing an enormous amount of energy, which is formed as a result of a nuclear fission or fusion reaction. Processes similar and comparable in power occur in the interiors of stars.

The nucleus of an atom of any substance is divided by the absorption of neutrons, but for most elements of the periodic table, this requires considerable energy. However, there are elements capable of such a reaction under the influence of neutrons, which have any - even minimal - energy. They are called dividing.

To create nuclear weapons, isotopes of uranium-235 or plutonium-239 are used. The first element is found in the earth's crust, it can be isolated from natural uranium (enrichment), and weapons-grade plutonium is obtained artificially in nuclear reactors. There are other fissile elements that can theoretically be used in nuclear weapons, but their production is associated with great difficulties and costs, so they are almost never used.

The main feature of a nuclear reaction is its chain, that is, self-sustaining nature. When an atom is irradiated with neutrons, it breaks up into two fragments with the release of a large amount of energy, as well as two secondary neutrons, which, in turn, are capable of causing fission of neighboring nuclei. So the process becomes cascading. As a result of a nuclear chain reaction, in a short period of time in a very limited volume, an enormous amount of “fragments” of decayed nuclei and atoms is formed in the form of high-temperature plasma: neutrons, electrons and quanta of electromagnetic radiation. This clot rapidly expands, forming a shock wave of enormous destructive power.

The vast majority of modern nuclear weapons do not work on the basis of a chain reaction of decay, but due to the fusion of nuclei of light elements, which begin at high temperatures and enormous pressure. In this case, even more energy is released than during the decay of nuclei such as uranium or plutonium, but the result does not fundamentally change - a region of high-temperature plasma is formed. Such transformations are called thermonuclear fusion reactions, and the charges in which they are used are thermonuclear.

Separately, it should be said about special types of nuclear weapons, in which most of the fission (or fusion) energy is directed to one of the damage factors. These include neutron munitions that generate a stream of hard radiation, as well as the so-called cobalt bomb, which gives the maximum radiation contamination of the area.

What are nuclear explosions?

There are two main classifications of nuclear explosions:

• by power;
• by location (point of location of the charge) at the time of the explosion.

Power is the defining characteristic of a nuclear explosion. The radius of the zone of complete destruction depends on it, as well as the size of the territory contaminated by radiation.

To evaluate this parameter, the TNT equivalent is used. It shows how much TNT needs to be blown up to get comparable energy. According to this classification, there are the following types of nuclear explosions:

• midget;
• small;
• medium;
• large;
• extra large.

With an ultra-small (up to 1 kT) explosion, a fireball with a diameter of no more than 200 meters and a mushroom cloud with a height of 3.5 km are formed. Super-large - have a power of more than 1 mT, their fireball exceeds 2 km, and the height of the cloud is 8.5 km.

An equally important feature is the location of the nuclear charge before the explosion, as well as the environment in which it occurs. Based on this, the following types of nuclear explosions are distinguished:

• Atmospheric. Its center can be located at a height of several meters to tens or even hundreds of kilometers above the earth's surface. In the latter case, it belongs to the high-altitude category (from 15 to 100 km). An air nuclear explosion has a spherical flash shape;
• Space. To fall into this category, it must have an altitude of more than 100 km;
• Ground. This group includes not only explosions on the surface of the earth, but also at a height of several meters above it. They pass both with and without soil ejection;
• Underground. After the signing of the Treaty on the Ban on Tests of Nuclear Weapons in the Atmosphere, on Earth, Under Water and in Space (1963), this type became the only one possible for testing nuclear charges. It is carried out at different depths, from several tens to hundreds of meters. Under the thickness of the earth, a cavity or collapse column is formed, the strength of the shock wave is significantly weakened (depending on depth);
• Surface. Depending on the height, it can be non-contact and contact. In the latter case, an underwater shock wave is formed;
• Underwater. Its depth is different, from tens to many hundreds of meters. Based on this, it has its own characteristics: the presence or absence of a "sultan", the nature of radioactive contamination, etc.

What happens in a nuclear explosion?

After the start of the reaction, a significant amount of thermal and radiant energy is released within a short period of time and in a very limited volume. As a result, in the center of a nuclear explosion, the temperature and pressure increase to enormous values. From afar, this phase is perceived as a very bright luminous point. At this stage, most of the energy is converted into electromagnetic radiation, mainly in the X-ray part of the spectrum. It is called primary.

The surrounding air is heated and expelled from the point of explosion at supersonic speeds. A cloud is formed and a shock wave is formed, which breaks away from it. This occurs approximately 0.1 ms after the start of the reaction. As the cloud cools, it expands and begins to rise, dragging contaminated soil particles and air with it. A funnel from a nuclear explosion forms at the epicenter.

Nuclear reactions taking place at this time become the source of a number of different radiations, from gamma rays and neutrons to high-energy electrons and atomic nuclei. This is how the penetrating radiation of a nuclear explosion arises - one of the main damaging factors of nuclear weapons. In addition, this radiation affects the atoms of the surrounding matter, turning them into radioactive isotopes that infect the area.

Gamma rays ionize atoms in the environment, creating an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that disables any electronic devices in the vicinity. The electromagnetic impulse of high-altitude atmospheric explosions spreads over a much larger area than in ground-based or low-altitude explosions.

Why is nuclear weapons dangerous and how to protect yourself from them?

The main damaging factors of a nuclear explosion:

• light radiation;
• shock wave;
• penetrating radiation;
• area contamination;
• electromagnetic impulse.

If we talk about a ground explosion, then half of its energy (50%) is spent on the formation of a shock wave and a funnel, approximately 30% is accounted for by the light radiation of a nuclear explosion, 5% is an electromagnetic pulse and penetrating radiation, and 15% is contaminating the area.

The light radiation of a nuclear explosion is one of the main damaging factors of nuclear weapons. It is a powerful stream of radiant energy, which includes radiation in the ultraviolet, infrared and visible parts of the spectrum. Its source is an explosion cloud in the early stages of existence (a fireball). At this time, it has a temperature of 6 to 8 thousand ° C.

Light radiation spreads almost instantly, the duration of this factor is calculated in seconds (up to a maximum of 20 seconds). But, despite the short duration, light radiation is very dangerous. At a short distance from the epicenter, it burns all combustible materials, and at a distance it leads to large-scale fires and ignitions. Even at a considerable distance from the explosion, damage to the organs of vision and burns to the skin is possible.

Since the radiation propagates in a straight line, any opaque barrier can become a protection against it. This damaging factor is significantly weakened in the presence of smoke, fog or dust.

The shock wave of a nuclear explosion is the most dangerous factor in nuclear weapons. Most of the injuries to people, as well as destruction and damage to objects, occur precisely due to its impact. A shock wave is an area of ​​sharp compression of the medium (water, soil or air), which moves in all directions from the epicenter. If we talk about an atmospheric explosion, then the speed of the shock wave is 350 m/s. As the distance increases, its speed decreases rapidly.

This damaging factor has a direct effect due to excess pressure and speed, and a person can also suffer from various debris that it carries. Closer to the epicenter, the wave causes serious seismic vibrations that can bring down underground structures and communications.

It should be understood that neither buildings nor even special shelters can protect against a shock wave in the immediate vicinity of the epicenter. However, they are quite effective at a considerable distance from it. The destructive power of this factor is significantly reduced by terrain folds.

penetrating radiation. This damaging factor is a stream of hard radiation, which consists of neutrons and gamma rays, emitted from the epicenter of the explosion. Its impact, like light radiation, is short-lived because it is strongly absorbed by the atmosphere. Penetrating radiation is dangerous for 10-15 seconds after a nuclear explosion. For the same reason, it is able to affect a person only at a relatively short distance from the epicenter - 2-3 km. As you move away from it, the level of radioactive exposure drops rapidly.

Passing through the tissues of our body, the flow of particles ionizes molecules, disrupting the normal course of biological processes, which leads to the failure of the most important systems of the body. In severe lesions, radiation sickness occurs. This factor has a destructive effect on some materials, and also disables electronic and optical devices.

Absorbing materials are used to protect against penetrating radiation. For gamma radiation, these are heavy elements with a significant atomic mass: for example, lead or iron. However, these substances do not capture neutrons well; moreover, these particles cause induced radioactivity in metals. Neutrons, in turn, are well absorbed by light elements such as lithium or hydrogen. For complex protection of objects or military equipment, multilayer materials are used. For example, the heads of ICBM mine installations are shielded with reinforced concrete and lithium containers. When building anti-nuclear shelters, boron is often added to building materials.

electromagnetic impulse. A damaging factor that does not affect human or animal health, but disables electronic devices.

A powerful electromagnetic field arises after a nuclear explosion as a result of the impact of hard radiation on the atoms of the environment. Its influence is short-term (several milliseconds), however, it is enough to damage equipment and power lines. Strong air ionization disrupts the normal operation of radio communications and radar, so the detonation of nuclear weapons is used to blind the missile attack warning system.

An effective way to protect against EMP is the shielding of electronic equipment. It has been in practice for many decades.

Radiation contamination. The source of this damage factor is the products of nuclear reactions, the unused part of the charge, as well as induced radiation. Infection during a nuclear explosion poses a serious danger to human health, especially since the half-life of many isotopes is very long.

Contamination of air, terrain and objects occurs as a result of the fallout of radioactive substances. They settle along the way, forming a radioactive trail. Moreover, as you move away from the epicenter, the danger decreases. And, of course, the area of ​​​​the explosion itself becomes a zone of infection. Most of the hazardous substances fall out in the form of precipitation within 12-24 hours after the explosion.

The main parameters of this factor are the radiation dose and its power.

Radioactive products are capable of emitting three types of particles: alpha, beta and gamma. The first two do not have a serious penetrating ability, therefore they pose less of a threat. The greatest danger is the possible ingress of radioactive substances into the body along with air, food and water.

The best way to protect yourself from radioactive products is to completely isolate people from their exposure. After the use of nuclear weapons, a map of the area should be created indicating the most contaminated areas, visits to which are strictly prohibited. It is necessary to create conditions that prevent the ingress of unwanted substances into water or food. People and equipment visiting contaminated sites must undergo decontamination procedures. Another effective way is personal protective equipment: gas masks, respirators, OZK suits.

The truth is that various methods of protection against a nuclear explosion can only save lives if you are far enough from its epicenter. In its immediate vicinity, everything will be reduced to fine melted rubble, and any shelters will be destroyed by seismic vibrations.

In addition, a nuclear attack will certainly lead to the destruction of infrastructure, panic, and the development of infectious diseases. Such phenomena can be called a secondary damaging factor of nuclear weapons. A nuclear explosion at a nuclear power plant can lead to even more serious results. In this case, tons of radioactive isotopes will be released into the environment, some of which have a long half-life.

As the tragic experience of Hiroshima and Nagasaki showed, a nuclear explosion not only kills people and maims their bodies, but also inflicts severe psychological trauma on the victims. The apocalyptic spectacles of the post-nuclear landscape, large-scale fires and destruction, the abundance of bodies and the groans of the charred dying cause incomparable mental suffering in a person. Many of those who survived the nightmare of nuclear bombings in the future could not get rid of serious mental disorders. In Japan, this category has come up with a special name - "Hibakusha".

Atom for peaceful purposes

The energy of a nuclear chain reaction is the most powerful force available to man today. It is not surprising that they tried to adapt it to carry out peaceful tasks. Especially many such projects were developed in the USSR. Of the 135 explosions carried out in the Soviet Union from 1965 to 1988, 124 were classified as "peaceful", and the rest were carried out in the interests of the military.

With the help of underground nuclear explosions, they planned to build reservoirs, as well as tanks for saving natural gas and toxic waste. Reservoirs created in this way should have a considerable depth and a relatively small mirror area, which was considered an important advantage.

They wanted to use them to turn the Siberian rivers to the south of the country, they were going to dig canals with their help. True, for such projects they thought to put “clean” charges, small in power, into action, which did not work out.

In the USSR, dozens of projects for underground nuclear explosions for the extraction of minerals were developed. They were intended to be used to increase the yield of oil fields. In the same way, they wanted to block emergency wells. An underground explosion was carried out in Donbass to remove methane from coal-bearing layers.

Nuclear explosions also served the benefit of theoretical science. With their help, the structure of the Earth, various seismic processes occurring in its depths were studied. There were proposals to deal with earthquakes by undermining nuclear weapons.

The power hidden in the atom attracted not only Soviet scientists. In the United States, a project was being developed for a spacecraft, the thrust of which was supposed to be created by the energy of the atom: the matter did not come to implementation.

Until now, the significance of Soviet experiments in this area has not been appreciated. For the most part, information about nuclear explosions in the USSR is closed; we know almost nothing about some of these projects. It is difficult to determine their scientific significance, as well as a possible danger to the environment.

In recent years, with the help of nuclear weapons, they plan to deal with a space threat - a possible impact of an asteroid or a comet.

Nuclear weapons are the most terrible invention of mankind, and their explosion is the most "infernal" means of destruction of all existing on earth. By creating it, mankind has approached the line beyond which there may be the end of our civilization. And even if there is no tension of the Cold War today, the threat has not become less because of this.

Today, the greatest danger is the further uncontrolled spread of nuclear weapons. The more states will have it, the higher the likelihood that someone will not stand it and press the notorious “red button”. Moreover, today the most aggressive and marginal regimes on the planet are trying to get the bomb.

If you have any questions - leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them.

Apocalypse Now

When the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred, the world found itself on the brink of a global catastrophe - a large-scale nuclear war between the two superpowers, the USSR and America. What would be the remnants of human civilization after a massive exchange of blows? The military, of course, predicted the outcome with the help of computers. They like to calculate everything, this is their forte.

Walter Mondale once said that "there will be no veterans of the third world war." Contrary to this seemingly absolutely correct remark, in just a few decades since the creation of the atomic bomb, the world has turned into a huge powder keg. Although, if powder. By the end of the Cold War, the number of strategic nuclear warheads and related intermediate-range munitions alone in the arsenals of NATO and the Warsaw Pact exceeded 24,000.

Their total capacity was 12,000 megatons, more than enough to repeat the tragedy in Hiroshima about a million times. And this is not taking into account tactical nuclear weapons, various mines stuffed with atomic warheads, torpedoes and artillery shells. Without an arsenal of chemical warfare agents. Apart from bacteriological and climatic weapons. Would this be enough to bring about Armageddon? The calculations showed that - for the eyes.

Of course, it was difficult for analysts to take into account all the factors, but they tried, in various institutions. The forecasts turned out to be frankly depressing. It was calculated that during a large-scale nuclear war, the parties would be able to bring down about 12,000 bombs and missiles of various bases with a total capacity of about 6,000 Mt on each other's heads. What could this number mean?

And this means massive strikes, first of all, against headquarters and communication centers, places of deployment of mines of intercontinental ballistic missiles, air defense positions, large military and naval formations. Then, as the conflict grows, it will be the turn of industrial centers, in other words, cities, that is, zones with a high degree of urbanization, and, of course, population density. Part of the nuclear warheads would explode above the surface to cause maximum damage, part - at high altitudes, to destroy satellites, communications systems and the power grid.

Once upon a time, at the height of the Cold War, the military strategy that implied all this madness was called the second strike doctrine. US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara defined it as "mutual assured destruction." American generals calculated that the US army and navy would have to destroy about a quarter of the population of the USSR and more than half of its industrial capacity before they themselves were destroyed.

We should probably not forget that, in terms of the invention of new weapons, mankind has advanced much further than in the manufacture of anti-cancer drugs, so that the American bomb “Kid”, which destroyed Hiroshima in August 1945, is nothing compared to modern exhibits. So, for example, the power of the SS-18 Satan strategic missile is about 20 Mt (that is, millions of tons of TNT). This is approximately one and a half thousand "Kids".

"The thicker the grass, the easier it is to mow"

This phrase was said by Alaric, the legendary Gothic leader who made proud Rome shudder. In a hypothetical nuclear war, the inhabitants of all large cities without exception would become this very grass. About 70% of the population of Western Europe, North America and the former USSR were urban and suburban residents. In an exchange of massive nuclear strikes, they would be doomed to immediate death. Calculations show that the explosion of even such an obsolete bomb by today's standards as the "Kid" over a city the size of New York, Tokyo or Moscow would result in the immediate death of millions of people. Just imagine what losses could be if thousands of atomic, hydrogen and neutron bombs were used.

This, at one time, was more or less accurately predicted. As a result of a large-scale nuclear war, in most of the cities of the warring parties, the fate of radioactive ruins was prepared. The shock waves and heat pulse would destroy buildings and highways, bridges, dams and dams over areas of millions of square kilometers in a matter of seconds. This is not so much, in relation to the entire land surface of the Northern Hemisphere. But, enough to start the end.

The number of people who evaporated, burned out, died in the rubble or caught a lethal dose of radiation should have been calculated in seven figures. Electromagnetic pulses that propagate during high-altitude nuclear explosions over tens of thousands of kilometers caused paralysis of all power supply and communication systems, destroyed all electronics and would have led to an accident at those thermal and nuclear power plants that miraculously managed to survive after the bombing.

Most likely, they would have violated the electromagnetic field of the Earth. As a result, it would provoke devastating natural disasters: hurricanes, floods, earthquakes.

There is an assumption according to which, with the massive use of weapons of mass destruction, the position of the Earth relative to the Sun would change. But, we will not deal with this hypothesis, we will limit ourselves to such “trifles” as the destruction of storage facilities for spent nuclear power plant assemblies and the depressurization of military laboratories producing bacteriological weapons. Some next superinfluenza, hundreds of times more deadly than the infamous "Spanish flu", once in the wild, would have completed the work that was started by the pandemics of cholera and plague, raging over radioactive blockages overflowing with decaying corpses.

Mankind has accumulated millions of tons of toxic chemical waste, dioxin-containing, in the first place. Accidents that occur from time to time, in which an insignificant part of them end up in river basins, lead to environmental disasters on a local scale. It is better not to imagine what could have happened in a one-to-one disaster. Serious scientific sources assure that this complex issue has not been deeply investigated. As you can see, it's useless. And so it is clear that this would be the end.

Bah, yes, we forgot about penetrating radiation - the fourth factor that goes after thermal radiation, a shock wave and an electromagnetic pulse that distinguishes nuclear weapons from other products that are designed to destroy their own kind. Colossal territories would be poisoned by radioactive contamination, the regeneration of which would take whole centuries. In rural areas, crops would be affected by radiation, leading to starvation among the survivors.

Increased doses of radiation are a source of cancer, pathologies in newborns and genetic mutations due to disruption of DNA chains. In a post-apocalyptic world, after the healthcare systems were destroyed, these issues from the field of modern medicine would have moved under the jurisdiction of sorcerers, because the survival of individual doctors does not at all mean the preservation of medicine as a whole. Millions of those burned and maimed at the first stage of a nuclear conflict, immediately after the exchange of blows, do not count. They would have died in the first hours, days and months after the nuclear Apocalypse. Long before the advent of witch doctors.

"And those of you who survive will envy the dead"

And these ominous words were said by John Silver, one of the most famous heroes of the English writer R. L. Stevenson. They are said for a completely different reason, but surprisingly fit into the context of describing the world after a nuclear war. Scientists agreed that the nitrogen oxides generated in the fireballs of nuclear explosions would be thrown into the stratosphere, where they would destroy the ozone layer. Its restoration could take decades, and this is at best - with our level of scientific knowledge, it is impossible to predict the timing more accurately. Once (about 600 million years ago), the ozone layer of the stratosphere played the role of a kind of cradle of life, protecting the Earth's surface from the deadly ultraviolet radiation of the Sun.

According to a report by the US National Academy of Sciences, an explosion of 12,000 Mt of nuclear weapons could destroy 70% of the ozone layer over the Northern Hemisphere - presumably the theater of operations, and 40% over the South, which would lead to the most dire consequences for all forms of life. Man and animals would go blind, burns and skin cancers would become commonplace. Many plants and microorganisms would disappear forever, finally and irrevocably.

"Our arrows will cover the sun from you"

This famous phrase: “Our arrows will block the sun from you,” said the envoy of the Persian king Xerxes to the Spartan king Leonidas, who fortified himself in the Thermopylae passage. Leonid's answer is known from the history books: "Well, then, we will fight in the shadows." Fortunately, the brave Spartans did not know the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons. In the "shadow cast by atomic arrows", there would simply be no one to fight.

In Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was impossible to localize the fires due to the water pipes destroyed by the shock wave. A "firestorm" developed. This is the name of a powerful fire, which causes an intense vortex movement of air. The city was covered with a huge thundercloud, it started to rain - black, greasy and oily. Attempts to fight the fire, which was generated by an atomic flash and many short circuits in the power grid, ended in a complete fiasco.

We can say with absolute certainty that in the event of a large-scale nuclear war, there could be no talk of any such attempts, because there would simply be no one to put out the fires. In general, the fire would have dispersed in earnest, where is the sea of ​​\u200b\u200bflame that engulfed Dresden after ritual raids by allied aircraft. In our time, industrial centers have colossal reserves of paper, wood, oil, oils, gasoline, kerosene, plastics, rubber and other combustible materials that are capable of blazing to blacken the sky. Throwing into the atmosphere over the Northern Hemisphere millions of tons of particles of smoke, ash, highly toxic substances and highly dispersed radioactive dust.

Calculations prove that in a few days, impenetrable clouds comparable in size to continents would cover the Sun over Europe and North America, and impenetrable darkness would descend on the Earth. The air temperature would drop by 30 - 40°C. The earth's surface was struck by bitter frosts, which in a short period of time would have turned it into permafrost. The cooling would have continued for centuries, exacerbated by the gradual decrease in the temperature of the oceans. That is, as the end result of a large-scale nuclear war - a climate catastrophe.

At first, severe storms would have arisen due to significant temperature differences between the continents and the ocean. Then, as temperatures dropped, they would have subsided a little, the surface of the seas and oceans was covered at first with ice chips, and then with hummocks. Even at the equator it would be more than cool, about - 50 degrees Celsius! Animals and plants that would have survived in a nuclear cataclysm would certainly have died from such cold weather. Extinction would be massive. The jungle would have turned into a forest bound by severe frosts, a taiga of dead vines and palm trees. Well, people who would miraculously be able to survive would probably know that there is real hunger.

Radiation would permeate almost everything - air, water, and soil. Surviving viruses and insects, subjected to powerful mutations, would spread new deadly diseases. A few years after a nuclear war, at best, an insignificant shadow would remain of a population of seven billion - about 20 million people scattered across the Earth plunged into nuclear twilight. Maybe it would have been Twilight of the Gods. Humanity would return to its primitive state under incomparably worse environmental conditions. I don’t want to think about looting, ritual murders and cannibalism, but probably the most terrible pictures of the apocalypse drawn by science fiction writers would become commonplace.

Degenerate descendants of the Normans

There is no doubt that humanity would be very lucky if it could survive the cataclysm at all. And what knowledge would he have preserved, and the memories of cars, airplanes or televisions transmitted from generation to generation would not become akin to the legends that Plato brought to us. Albert Einstein once said: "I don't know what kind of weapons the third world war will be, but I know for sure that the fourth world war will be with stones and sticks." Do you think this is not a very optimistic forecast? And you imagine yourself as just Robinson on a desert island and honestly admit: will you be able to recreate a hot water system, design a radio receiver or just a telephone?

Alexander Gorbovsky in his book "Fourteen Millennia Ago" cited as an example the fate of the Norman settlements that were founded in the 14th century on the coast of North America. Their sad fate is very indicative. In a nutshell, it looks like this. The colonists brought with them from Scandinavia the knowledge of pottery, the ability to smelt and process metal. But when communication with the mother country was interrupted, they were assimilated by the local Iroquois tribes, who were at a much lower stage of development, and knowledge was lost forever. The descendants of the settlers were thrown back into the Stone Age.

When European conquerors arrived 200 years later, they found only tribes that were distinguished by fair skin and used a number of Scandinavian words. And, that was it! The great-grandchildren of the Vikings had no idea about the collapsed and moss-covered structures that were once iron-smelting furnaces and mining mines. But they did not have a nuclear winter ...

damaging factors.

When a nuclear weapon is detonated, a nuclear explosion occurs, the damaging factors of which are:

*shock wave

*light emission

* penetrating radiation

* radioactive contamination

*electromagnetic pulse (EMP)

*X-rays

People directly exposed to the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion, in addition to physical damage, experience a powerful psychological impact from the terrifying sight of the picture of the explosion and destruction. An electromagnetic pulse does not directly affect living organisms, but it can disrupt the operation of electronic equipment.

Radioactive contamination is the result of a significant amount of radioactive substances falling out of a cloud raised into the air. The three main sources of radioactive substances in the explosion zone are the fission products of nuclear fuel, the part of the nuclear charge that did not react, and radioactive isotopes formed in soil and other materials under the influence of neutrons (induced radioactivity).

Settling on the surface of the earth in the direction of the cloud, the products of the explosion create a radioactive area, called a radioactive trace. The density of contamination in the region of the explosion and in the wake of the movement of the radioactive cloud decreases with distance from the center of the explosion. The shape of the trace can be very diverse, depending on the surrounding conditions.

The radioactive products of the explosion emit three types of radiation: alpha, beta and gamma. The time of their impact on the environment is very long.

In connection with the natural process of decay, radioactivity decreases, this occurs especially sharply in the first hours after the explosion.

Damage to people and animals by exposure to radiation contamination can be caused by external and internal exposure. Severe cases can be accompanied by radiation sickness and death.

A nuclear explosion in a populated area, like other disasters associated with a large number of victims, the destruction of hazardous industries and fires, will lead to difficult conditions in the area of ​​​​its action, which will be a secondary damaging factor. People who have not even received significant injuries directly from the explosion are very likely to die from infectious diseases and chemical poisoning. There is a high probability of burning in fires or simply hurting yourself when trying to get out of the rubble.

A nuclear attack on a nuclear power plant can release much more radioactive material into the air than the bomb itself can release. With a direct hit by a charge and evaporation of a reactor or storage of radioactive materials, the area of ​​​​land unsuitable for life for many decades will be hundreds to thousands of times larger than the area of ​​​​contamination from a ground-based nuclear explosion. For example, when a reactor with a capacity of 100 MW is evaporated by a nuclear explosion of 1 megaton and simply with a ground nuclear explosion of 1 Mt, the ratio of areas of the territory with an average dose of 2 rad (0.02 Gray) per year will be as follows: 1 year after the attack, 130,000 km? and 15,000 km? in 5 years 60,000 km? and 90 km? in 10 years 50,000 km? and 15 km? 700 km in 100 years? and 2 km?.

Penetrating radiation (ionizing radiation) is gamma radiation and a flux of neutrons emitted from the nuclear explosion zone for units or tens of seconds.

The radius of destruction of penetrating radiation during explosions in the atmosphere is less than the radii of damage from light radiation and shock waves, since it is strongly absorbed by the atmosphere. Penetrating radiation affects people only at a distance of 2-3 km from the explosion site, even for large charges, however, a nuclear charge can be specially designed in such a way as to increase the proportion of penetrating radiation to cause maximum damage to manpower (so-called neutron weapons). At high altitudes, in the stratosphere and space, penetrating radiation and electromagnetic pulse are the main damaging factors.

Penetrating radiation can cause reversible and irreversible changes in materials, electronic, optical and other devices due to the disruption of the crystal lattice of matter and other physical and chemical processes under the influence of ionizing radiation.

Protection against penetrating radiation is provided by various materials that attenuate gamma radiation and the neutron flux. Different materials react differently to these radiations and protect differently.

Materials that have elements with high atomic mass (iron, lead, low-enriched uranium) are well protected from gamma radiation, but these elements behave very poorly under neutron radiation: neutrons pass them relatively well and at the same time generate secondary capture gamma rays, and also activate radioisotopes, making the protection itself radioactive for a long time (for example, the iron armor of a tank; lead does not show secondary radioactivity). Example of layers of half attenuation of penetrating gamma radiation: lead 2 cm, steel 3 cm, concrete 10 cm, masonry 12 cm, soil 14 cm, water 22 cm, wood 31 cm.

Neutron radiation, in turn, is well absorbed by materials containing light elements (hydrogen, lithium, boron), which efficiently and with a short range scatter and absorb neutrons, while not being activated and emitting much less secondary radiation. Layers of half attenuation of the neutron flux: water, plastic 3 - 6 cm, concrete 9 - 12 cm, soil 14 cm, steel 5 - 12 cm, lead 9 - 20 cm, wood 10 - 15 cm. in the gaseous state, it has a low density), lithium hydride and boron carbide.

There is no ideal homogeneous protective material against all types of penetrating radiation; to create the most light and thin protection, it is necessary to combine layers of different materials for sequential absorption of neutrons, and then primary and capture gamma radiation (for example, multilayer tank armor, which also takes into account radiation protection; protection of the heads of mine launchers from containers with lithium and iron hydrates with concrete), as well as the use of materials with additives. Concrete and moistened soil backfill, which contain both hydrogen and relatively heavy elements, are widely used in the construction of protective structures. Boron-added concrete (20 kg B4C per 1 m² of concrete) is very good for construction, at the same thickness as ordinary concrete (0.5 - 1 m) it provides 2 - 3 times better protection against neutron radiation and is suitable for protection against neutron weapons.

4.Bilateral agreements on nuclear weapons

As efforts to deter nuclear weapons continued in various international forums, there was a growing understanding that nuclear powers have a special responsibility to maintain a stable and credible international security system. During and after the Cold War, the two major nuclear powers entered into agreements that greatly reduced the threat of nuclear war.