3-10 Kiloton Nuke

I would like to know (in lay persons' terms), how seriously/bad is this?
How far can it reach? Kindly explain for me in miles. What would
be the extent of damage, and the after affects?

Someone has said in another thread:
"Satellites can easily detect radioactive substanses moving around."
Is this true? Can it be detected? Would they (National Security) have
advance warning to allow time for the public, for us to know?

What do/can we do for saftey?

In relative terms it's not too bad, but 3-10 kilotons could still do some major damage in a well populated area. In terms of detection, a 3-10 kiloton nuke encased in a lead container would be very hard to detect, and the detection device would need to be fairly close.

Anyways, as long as you don't live in a major city, I wouldn't put nukes at the top of my concerns list.

the bombs dropped in wwii were 15 kilotons, just for perspective. i think the immidiate blast damage is like a mile or so of total distruction. but the effects of the radiations would kill many for a good distance. not an instant death but horrible mutations and cancer related deaths. plus the radiation would be present for a long long time making that location inhabitable.

[edit on 15-11-2004 by Franki]

Here is a link to Federation of American Scientist with some detailed information on effects from nuclear explosions. Includes breakdowns on radiation, impact, structural failures, etc..

Link

Also, here is a decent link for some guides. Personally, my family keeps quite a nice little emergency closet for things like this.

Link


[edit on 11/15/2004 by MrNice]

[edit on 11/15/2004 by MrNice]

FYI, the "Gov" doesn't want the public to know that weapons grade plutonium is very, very hard to detect. It can be "easily" hidden and transported. This link will help to explain that "detection" is now based on Neutron counts. Basically the fissionable material is easily obtained and smuggled. That's why the concentration has been on the "other" parts of the bomb.

www.bertholdtech.com...

Most of the tools out there are for megaton bombs...

Here's a handy calculator for it..

www.stardestroyer.net...

Haven't seen one for kiloton bombs, but a look at Nagasaki or Hiroshima should give you a good idea... It isn't pretty. If it was detonated from the air, or from a skyscraper, you'd see even worse destruction also.

EDIT: From one of the links above...

Blast Radius: Roughly less than quarter of a mile
Ionizing Radiation: Roughly over a half mile
Fallout would depend on wind of course...

[edit on 15-11-2004 by Gazrok]

The optimum elevation for 3-10 kilotons would be approx 1500-3000 feet above the ground. A small private plane would do nicely. The kamakazee pilot shouldn't be a problem. The bigger problem is the 7-10 warheads from the old SS-20's that OBL may have aquired. Read this.......

exodus2006.com...

I read this yesterday, and I am totally sick!

What if it's real?? Is it real???
To make matters worse, the NY skies since yesterday are air
patrolled heavier than ever.

Be sick, then prepare. I was taught as a small child to flee the cities, be self reliant. That all food and water would be contaminated. Such thought has been dismissed by the "mainstream" as being a "doomsdayer" Yet look around. "The Truth is Out There".

Originally posted by Gazrok
Most of the tools out there are for megaton bombs...
Here's a handy calculator for it..
www.stardestroyer.net...

Haven't seen one for kiloton bombs...

Hint: 1 kiloton is 0.001 megatons.

With small yield bombs range of lethal ionizing radiation becomes greater than lethal range of blast and thermal radiation.

(couple typos here)
www.globalsecurity.org...

Here's good page:
nuclearweaponarchive.org...

Originally posted by LL1
I read this yesterday, and I am totally sick!

What if it's real?? Is it real???
To make matters worse, the NY skies since yesterday are air
patrolled heavier than ever.

Relax. I don't believe for a second that Pakistani operatives were able to steal a nuke from the Soviet Union. The article doesn't tell you how that happened, you know why? Because in the old Soviet times, that was simply impossible.

Second, I don't believe that a device like that can be refurbished. It requires a highly specialized expertise in its design which the Pakistani didn't have a chance of getting.

Third, on of the links in this thread details multiple safety measures put in this devices that defeat an attempt to break it's electronic locks.

Aelita
I don't believe for a second that Pakistani operatives were able to steal a nuke from the Soviet Union

true, they probably bought it.

My god, I read through these links, and the interview with Aljazeera and the 3rd man of Al Quaeda was chilling. Is this simply rhetoric to keep the terror level up, or is he telling the truth? His thoughts were articulate, and well thought out. Think that this could really happen?

Originally posted by Murcielago

Aelita
I don't believe for a second that Pakistani operatives were able to steal a nuke from the Soviet Union

true, they probably bought it.

Very much doubt it. You have to defeat a lot of accounting that KGB keeps track of.

Although a terrorist getting his hand on a nuke is scary its practically like we are living in eden compared to the Cold War. Now that was scary if stuff went down during the Cold War the entire world would be effected and most of it destroyed. Nuclear winter, full scale nuclear war now thats the stuff of nightmares.

The worst case terrorist attacks are going to destroy a few cities. but not the whole country or the whole world.