Nuclear strike?

Question

if a city was nuked say 20 miles away would it be safe to go outside? or how long?

Answer 1

depending on the yeild of the warhead but I would bay you probably would be cooked at 20 miles

Answer 2

The answer depends on how big the nuke is. As for the blast: The smaller bombs (like the ones dropped in Japan) should be ok 20 miles away. But the Soviets designed a 100 megaton bomb that would obliterate anything in a HUGE radius.

But then there's the problem with radiation: There are 2 types of radiation. The first hits you immediately from the blast, and the second is fallout. The burst either got you or it didn't. It's instant. You can't hide from it or wait for it. Fallout would arrive anywhere from 1 to 2 hours later. The size of the explosion and the wind determine how far the fallout travels. The fallouot radiation (like an ash) would make the area uninhabitable for years to come. Now you're into having to understand isotopes and half-lives. Look at Chernobyl. That was a nuclear meltdown at a power plant in the former Soviet Union, now about an hour north of Kiev, Ukraine. The area is still not safe to go into without great lengths to protect ones self. But an hour south, Kiev is a bustling city. There is a major river that runs through the area, and hundreds of miles away, the effects of genetic mutation in the river are still noticable. There is a high incidence of cancer in the population that lived in the region surrounding the meltdown.

In short, there are so many factors that go into it that being able to give a simple answer is impossible.

Answer 3

Not at all. At the VERY least (depending on the type of bomb, explosion, etc.) you are going to get a massive dose of radiation, enough to make you sick and easily cause an eventual death.

I believe the point of the destruction of buildings ends at about two miles... instantaneous damage is reduced the further you go.

http://foody.org/atomic/atomic01.html

Answer 4

It takes about 100 years for plutonium to lose some of its deadly radioactive particles, and if you are within a 100 miles of a nuclear bomb drop, of course it depends on the warhead, you and everyone else would be toast.

Answer 5

It would depend on the direction of the winds..
You are safe from blast & direct radiation at 20 miles.

Answer 6

No, you would have to stay inside for about ten thousand years. Stock up on canned goods and dig a deep hole. And remember to pack your toothbrush!

Answer 7

not a hope mate, even a small dirty bomb would make a city the size of london unsafe for years.

Answer 8

you would be fried like a chicken.