The Real Impact of a Nuclear Bomb
Briefly

The NAS study titled Potential Environmental Effects of Nuclear War analyzes the anticipated environmental and societal impacts of nuclear warfare. It focuses on the thermal energy released, along with the kinetic energy of the blast and the resulting shockwave from a nuclear detonation. The report emphasizes four scenarios that could lead to nuclear weapon use, while excluding the examination of radioactive fallout, which has been extensively covered in past literature. Historical studies have suggested that large-scale nuclear exchanges could result in severe climatic consequences, such as nuclear winter.
The new NAS study primarily focuses on the thermal energy and blast effects from a nuclear explosion, evaluating scenarios that could lead to nuclear weapons usage.
In a nuclear detonation, approximately 35% of energy is released as thermal energy, 50% as blast and shockwave, and 15% as radiation.
The report outlines four plausible scenarios regarding nuclear weapon employment and acknowledges previous studies that have highlighted potential nuclear winter outcomes.
Notably, the evaluation of radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons was excluded from this study, despite extensive prior research on the subject.
Read at The Cipher Brief
[
|
]