Table of Contents
How much damage can a nuclear missile do?
The volume the weapon’s energy spreads into varies as the cube of the distance, but the destroyed area varies at the square of the distance. Thus 1 bomb with a yield of 1 megaton would destroy 80 square miles. While 8 bombs, each with a yield of 125 kilotons, would destroy 160 square miles.
How many miles can a nuclear warhead destroy?
Calculations demonstrate that one megaton of fission, typical of a two-megaton H-bomb, will create enough beta radiation to blackout an area 400 kilometres (250 mi) across for five minutes.
How strong is a fission bomb?
The amount of energy released by fission bombs can range from the equivalent of just under a ton to upwards of 500,000 tons (500 kilotons) of TNT (4.2 to 2.1×106 GJ).
What kind of damage would a nuclear bomb do?
Nuclear fallout can expose people to radiation poisoning, which can damage the body’s cells and prove fatal. Wellerstein estimated that between 50 and 90\% of people within this radius could die from the acute effects of radiation.
What damage can a missile do?
A missile that hits a target may pierce through it (perforation), stop at some depth of penetration (embedment) or bounce back (ricochet), sometimes leaving a dent in the surface. The impact of a fragment on a piece of equipment can damage the target either by penetration or by plastic collapse.
Are nuclear bombs fission or fusion?
Atomic bombs rely on fission, or atom-splitting, just as nuclear power plants do. The hydrogen bomb, also called the thermonuclear bomb, uses fusion, or atomic nuclei coming together, to produce explosive energy.
Are there any nuclear-armed missiles?
Nuclear-armed missiles. Ukrainian officials revealed in 2005 that Iran had made illegal purchases of 12 Kh-55 Soviet cruise missiles in 2001, and China had bought six. These were very long-range missiles designed to carry nuclear warheads, although the missiles Iran and China acquired did not have nuclear warheads.
What determines the critical mass of a nuclear bomb?
Critical mass depends on the density of the material: as the density in creases, the critical mass de creases. Instead of colliding two sub-critical pieces of nuclear fuel, modern weapons detonate chemical explosives around a sub-critical sphere (or “pit”) of uranium-235 or plutonium-239 metal.
What is the range of a nuclear missile from Iran?
Iran’s Existing Nuclear Capable Missiles. Iran also has a number of missiles that are already deployed or under advanced development that can almost certainly carry nuclear weapons. Its Shahab-3 and a range of variants has a maximum range “guestimated” at around 1,300 to 2,500 kilometers with a nominal 800-1,200 kilogram warhead.
How would Iran choose to deliver nuclear weapons?
We judge that Tehran would choose ballistic missiles as its preferred method of delivering nuclear weapons, if it builds them. Iran’s ballistic missiles are inherently capable of delivering WMD, and Tehran already has the largest Inventory of ballistic missiles in the Middle East.