How long does it take for a nuclear bomb to subside when it has been detonated?

Question

can we still hide from its radiation?

Answer 1

some of the heavier (and more dangerous) isotopes (strontium 90 and cesium 137) will have half lives of 30 years. Some others have longer half lives (some as long as 20,000 years).

The bigger concern is the moment where the nuclear weapon detonates (shot point)....where nasty gamma rays are throw into the air.

All this assuming the weapon detonates on the ground---since radioactive isotopes and gamma rays would mix with water vapor, rocks and dust. Air bursts are somewhat less dangerous (but not by much)..since most radioactive fallout usually isn't mixed with the lower atmosphere (where we humans reside).

We should reside in an underground bunker (stocked with water, supplies and food) for about a month or so. Then the immediate threat of fallout will pass (it could be sooner or later, depending on the weather for that time period). This doesn't mean, however, that the threat of radiation will go away. We must learn to adapt to this new life...for just about anything we touch, breath, consume (eventually) will have some residual radioactive fallout on it.

This is just a basic response...but I wanted to keep it as simple as possible. Hope this helps.

(PS: this has nothing to do with conservatives or liberals...anyone stupid and naive enough to include that in their answers should not be taken seriously).

Answer 2

Radiation from a nuclear bomb goes up, it would take several years for u to be able to live on the surface. Atomic bomb radiation sinks into the ground and remains up to 100 years. They are not made the same. Yes if u are in a shelter that is build for either one u would have a better chance of surviving it.
you cant see, smell or taste radiation.

Answer 3

It depends on the bomb. Sometimes the radiation can be around for a 100 years or more, and for some it only lasts a few years.... The countryside near the Chernobyl explosion is STILL highly radioactive.

Answer 4

Most of Radiation will be gone in about 6000 years.Do not forget we live in Nuclear Universe.The Elements in our Body went through nuclear changes Billions of years back even worst than a Nuclear explosion.Just Read Science.

Answer 5

The initial blast and heat wave , depending on the size of the devise, destroy everything for many miles around. Then depending on the type of material used, the radiation danger can last for a few years to 40,000 years.

Answer 6

There are some variables that need to be set in your question, before it can be answered....namely:
1. Type of detonation: airburst or groundburst
2.How high is the yield: .3 kilotons from a tactical nuke or 500 kilotons from a strategic nuke?
3. Pervailing winds and air currents
4. Obstructions, such as hardened concrete facilities, mountains, or whatever.

Answer 7

U 238, which is what they make most atomic weapons with, has a half life of 4.47 billion years which means it looses half of it radiation in its half life. Plutonium-239 has a half-life of 24,100 years. Lets just say forever.. You can run but you can't hide, it is possible a lot of the cancers in the world today were caused by atomic weapons testing from back in the 1950's and 60's

Answer 8

Probably awhile. I heard it can be in the soil, and water for awhile. An then maybe in the air. Then it affects the generation of organisms there. An then the generation of organisms probably after. Then after. Then as time goes on. It goes back to no more radiation.

Answer 9

so many years, in Japan still effects are there,no body can live to judge the time period for radiations exactly. We cannot hide from its radiation as yet.

Answer 10

Longer than an M-80