ANSWERS: 7
  • There is no difference - they are two names for the same thing. The name atom bomb came first, and hence is widely used. However, the name nuclear bomb is more correct. The reason that they are so bad is simply the size of the explosions. There *are* no other explosions as huge. Bomb yields are conventionally expressed in kilotons and megatons: a kiloton is equivalent to a thousand tons of TNT, a megaton a million tons of TNT. A B-51 bomber carries about 30 tons of bombs, of which perhaps 20 tons may be explosive. 20 kilotons is a pretty small nuclear bomb, yet it has as much explosive power as 1000 conventional loads from the biggest bomber currently flying. Even when things like refineries explode, the explosive yields are still of the order of 1 kiloton, which is about the same as the smallest nukes, which are specially engineered to keep the size of the explosion small.
  • no difference
  • An atomic bomb is when they split the atom.A nuclear bomb is when they split the nucleous(or center)of the atom.It is much worse(more powerful)
  • In my opinion (IMO, never H) nukes are overrated in their badness. The same level of damage can be attained without them, it just takes longer. . Throughout the history of man new weaponry has been met with horror because it is more effective and tends to remove a previous 'balance' of power; the church tried to ban crossbows, mustard gas is made illegal, atomic bomb use is is considered unthinkable. . It comes down to this: you can't un-invent things and the scale of harm (and its opposite) that can be done is going to increase over time.
  • They are the same. However a "thermonuclear bomb" differs fundamentally from an "atomic bomb" in that it utilizes the energy released when two light atomic nuclei combine, or fuse, to form a heavier nucleus. An atomic bomb, by contrast, uses the energy released when a heavy atomic nucleus splits, or fissions, into two lighter nuclei. Thermonuclear bombs can be hundreds or even thousands of times more powerful than atomic bombs. The explosive yield of atomic bombs is measured in kilotons, each unit of which equals the explosive force of 1,000 tons of TNT. The explosive power of hydrogen bombs, by contrast, is frequently expressed in megatons, each unit of which equals the explosive force of 1,000,000 tons of TNT. Nuclear fallout is what makes them worse then other huge explosions. Fallout is when the particles of matter in the air made radioactive from a nuclear explosion. Some of these particles fall in the immediate area and some get blown by upper winds many thousands of miles. Eventually they fall to the earth. When they do they have nasty effects of humans. Here are a few just for fun. 100-200 rems Mild symptoms occur. Blood and sperm forming tissues are affected. Mild nausea and vomiting might occur. Temporary male sterility. Loss of appetite, fatigue might last up to 4 weeks. 200-600 rems Illness becomes increasingly severe, and significant mortality sets in. Onset of initial symptoms occur 1-6 hours and last 1-2 days. Nausea is universal and vomiting is 50% at 280 rems. After this a 7-14 day latency period sets in. Initial symptoms reoccur and also might include hair loss, fatigue, hemorrhage of the mouth, kidney. Susceptibility to infection is serious. At 300 rems the possibility of mortality without medical treatment increases to 10%. Possibility of permanent female sterility appears. Mortality rises steeply, from around 50% at 450 rems to 90% at 600 unless there is medical intervention. The symptoms listed for 200-400 rems increase in occurrence and severity, reaching 100% occurrence at 600 rems. When death occurs, it is usually 2-12 weeks after exposure and results from infection and hemorrhage. Recovery takes several months to a year, blood cell counts may take even longer to return to normal. Female sterility becomes probable. 600-1000 rems Survival depends on stringent medical intervention. Bone marrow is almost completely destroyed and will require a transfusion of the bone marrow. Death usually follows 1-4 weeks from infection and internal bleeding. The recovery might never completely happen and if it does will take years. Above 1000 rems This will cause severe intestinal and metabolic problems which include severe diarrhea, intestinal bleeding, and loss of fluids. Death will follow in a few hours from circulatory collapse. From 1000-5000 the onset time drops from 30 minutes to 5 minutes. Following the initial severe nausia a period of apparent well-being will last a few hours to a few days often called the walking ghost phase. The terminal phase will last 2-10 days. In rapid succession prostration, diarrhea, anorexia, and fever follow. Death is certain, often preceded by delirium and coma. Medical treatment is only to relieve suffering. Above 5000 rems metabolic disruption is severe enough to interfere with the nervous system. Immediate disorientation and coma will result, onset is within seconds to minutes. Convulsions occur which may be controlled with sedation. Victim may linger for up to 48 hours before dying. The U.S. military assumes that 8000 rads of fast neutron radiation (from a neutron bomb) will immediately and permanently incapacitate a person.
  • The intense blast wave, heat and radiation. The heat can be intense enough to totally vaporise human beings.
  • what makes them so much worse? The first effect of a nuclear explosion in the air is an intense flash of light, as quick as a lightning flash but a thousand times as bright. It is accompanied by a powerful pulse of heat radiation, sufficient to set fire to light combustible material out to a distance of fourteen km., and to paint or wood at half that distance. There is also an intense pulse of X-rays, sufficient to be lethal at a distance of three km.; in fact that would be a rather small factor, since people that close would all or nearly all be killed by the blast that follows. Immediately after the flash, a "fireball" forms in the air and rises for several seconds, blindingly bright and radiating much heat. On a clear day or night, people up to eighty km. away who happened to be facing that way, or who turned their eyes to look where the flash came from, would be temporarily or permanently blinded. Within ten km. of "ground zero" (which is the point directly under the explosion) all parts of the body exposed to the flash would be burned deeply into the flesh. Superficial burns would be caused at greater distances, out to fifteen km. at least. Clothing that caught fire would cause many more burns. The weather conditions prevailing, and the time of day the bomb exploded, would both influence the degrees of damage. For example, the radii for skin burns and blindness would depend on the weather. Mist or fog reduces the range of the heat and light rays; on the other hand, darkness dilates the pupils of the eyes increasing the probability of severe eye damage from the flash. Starting at the same instant, but travelling more slowly (like the sound of thunder following a lightning flash) is an enormously powerful blast wave. It would destroy even reinforced concrete buildings for a radius of two km., and ordinary brick or timber frame houses out to eight km. Major damage to houses would extend out to fourteen km., and windows would be broken at twenty or thirty km. People at a distance, if they realized what had happened when they saw the flash, would have a few seconds to lie down, or even to dive into a ditch or hollow, before the blast hit. Within three km., almost everyone would be killed, either directly by the blast or by collapsing or flying masonry. At eight km., it is estimated that about fifty per cent of people would be killed by the effects of the blast. Immediately following the blast wave would be hurricane force winds, first outwards from the explosion, and many seconds later inwards to replace the air that went out. Within four km., the wind would be of tornado force, six hundred km./hr., sufficient to drive straws into wooden utility poles or glass splinters into people, but of course over a much wider area than a tornado. People in the open would be picked up and hurled into any object strong enough to be still standing.

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