The effects of nuclear war.

written by: United States

The energy of a nuclear explosion is released in the form of a blast wave, thermal radiation (heat) and nuclear radiation. The distribution of energy in these three forms depends on the yield of the weapon. For nuclear weapons in the kiloton range, the energy is divided in various forms, roughly as 50% blast, 35% thermal and 15% nuclear radiation. Each one of these forms causes devastation on a scale that is unimaginable. Below these effects are discussed separately for a 15 kiloton bomb, which was the explosive power of the bomb detonated by the U.S. in Hiroshima during World War II. This is also the size of the weapons now possessed by India, Pakistan, North Korea and would likely be roughly the size weapon created by terrorists.