These days, it is constantly known that North Korea is testing nuclear weapons: and ballistic missiles as if playing with America. As soon as North Korea dropped a missile into the sea, American President Donald Trump’ also dropped a tweet on Twitter that shocked the world. It is doubtful that China is in the middle of the road and not on both sides. However, we thought it would be better to find out a little about the functioning of nuclear weapons and how to be careful in such a situation.

How do nuclear bombs work?

The nuclear bombs that we have heard about the most are called fission bombs. In a nuclear explosion, what simply happens is that the nucleus of the reactive element at the center of the bomb instantly releases its energy. In addition, there are other types such as thermo-nuclear bombs and alkali bombs.

During World War II, America developed two fission bombs. One was called Little Boy, a gun-type bomb loaded with uranium. That bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The other weapon was a bomb with an internally detonated plutonium core called Fat Man, which was dropped on Nagasaki. The highly reactive uranium-235 and plutonium-239 isotopes were chosen for use in these.

Source – history.com

Fission occurs when a neutron hits a nucleus of this isotope at high speed. There the nucleus is broken and a lot of energy is released. As this happens continuously between the nuclei, it becomes a chain reaction and the nuclear explosion takes place.

Among these, terrorist organizations with less technical capabilities are also making nuclear bombs. They are not so powerful and they are called dirty bombs. What they do is detonate ordinary explosives by placing them next to a slightly radioactive element. The number of deaths occurring at the same time is minimal, but due to the release of radioactivity in most of these areas, people’s health problems will arise in the blasted area for a long time.

Nature and effect of an explosion

The effect of a nuclear explosion varies depending on the weather conditions on the day of detonation, the time and geographical location, and the height above the ground where the explosion took place.

At the time of the explosion, the surrounding air spreads far away at the same time. Due to the resulting pressure difference, surrounding objects are instantly broken, vehicles, etc. shrink, and buildings explode. Although this is an amount that a human can bear, death occurs due to collision with external objects such as buildings and temperature.If we consider a 1-megaton bomb (ie 80 times bigger than the bomb that dropped on Hiroshima, but much smaller than today’s nuclear weapons) it will cover a km. The blast affects up to a radius of 6, and the impact and waves create 180 tons of force. Wind speed is km/h. It comes to 255.

In a nuclear explosion, as much as 35% of the energy is released as thermal radiation. The temperature during the attack on Hiroshima was estimated to be 300,000 degrees Celsius. That temperature is about 300 times that of a crematorium. So when the body falls into such a state, it means that we directly become the building blocks of the human body, such as carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

A person injured in a nuclear explosion – aljazeera.com

This thermal radiation travels at the speed of light and the first thing you see is a blinding white light and heat. The impact of a 1-megaton bomb is km. There may be as many as 21. If this happens in the afternoon, the people in that area will have blue eyes, and if it happens at night, km. Those who are 85 away also get temporary blindness.

The effect of temperature varies according to the distance from the explosion. In case of 1 megaton bomb explosion, km. Severe burns occur even if they are about 11 meters away. Km away from it. If it is within 8, about 24% of the body will suffer from skin damage and blistering and if people in this region do not receive treatment very soon, it can become fatal. The distances may vary depending on the situation, weather conditions, and also depending on the clothing worn. Black color absorbs a lot of heat radiation and white clothing reflects most of it. Because of this, the effect of wearing a white dress is very minimal.

Nuclear weapons have effects not just after an explosion, but for several generations due to the effects of radioactivity. People with deformities, genetic mutations, etc., as well as the devastation in a large area, can have a strong impact on the economic condition of a country. From a humanitarian point of view, not only the army soldiers but also the innocent people are suffering for nothing as they are trapped in a large area. So, if it is possible to prevent such a dangerous situation, a destructive war situation before it occurs, it will lead to a happy event for several generations to come.

According to the current situation. Korea is only trying to provoke Russia, China, and especially America about its power. Like dogs barking from both sides of a gate, they simply do not want to be second to each other, even though they make various statements and impose sanctions, it still does not seem to turn into a conflict. Because every country knows very well that it will not be able to cover the damage it can bear for a long time. Even China is not biased because of justice, but only for the benefit of its own country.

Sources: atomicheritage.org, extremetech.com, sciencealert.com