Sambamba
Lister
Fireball
43.75 mi2 / 113.31 km2
This circle shows the maximum radius of the fireball. In a fission bomb, the fireball burns 10,000 times hotter than the surface of the sun and is hot enough to ignite the fusion reaction in a hydrogen bomb.
In the first millionth of a second after detonation, the bomb materials heat up to extreme temperatures. The fireball forms immediately from the burning bomb residue, and it emits an enormous amount of energy as x-rays, light, and heat, expanding out as it cools. Anything—or anyone—inside the fireball would be vaporized in an instant.
Heat
3200.49 mi2 / 8289.25 km2
The explosion produces intense heat that causes catastrophic damage.
Anyone within this radius would have severe or fatal third-degree burns.
Within the radius shown here, wood, clothing, paper, and plastics would catch fire. Even outside this boundary, the heat would still be intense enough to cause first- and second-degree burns.
Shock Wave
345.04 mi2 / 893.65 km2
As the fireball quickly expands, it forces back the surrounding air, creating a shock wave.
The point where the ambient air pressure jumps is called the shock front—an invisible destructive force moving out from the center of the blast.
At this radius, the pressure of the shock wave is strong enough to destroy most buildings, except for those that are reinforced. Hurricane-force winds accompany the shock front, adding to the destruction. While the human body can survive a significant pressure jump and high winds, anyone in this area is likely to be injured or killed by collapsing structures or by wind-blown debris.
Radiation
30.98 mi2 / 80.23 km2
Shortly after detonation, the nuclear materials emit a burst of radiation in the form of gamma rays and neutrons.
These particles damage the human body at a cellular level. Absorbing too many in a short period results in acute radiation poisoning.
People at this radius would absorb about 500 rem of radiation—a potent dose 800 times greater than the average annual exposure for Americans. Of those who survive the heat and the shockwave, 50 to 90 percent will die a painful death from radiation poisoning within a few hours to a few weeks. Victims would experience symptoms including nausea, and fatigue. Their hair would fall out, and their white blood cells would die off, increasing the risk of infection.
Fallout
In a surface blast, the mushroom cloud lifts irradiated debris into the atmosphere. The wind can carry this debris across long distances—the particles sometimes rain down hundreds of miles away. Radioactive fallout, as these particles are called, can remain in the environment for decades. The effect on humans is mostly through food: crops absorb radiation and pass it on to animals—including livestock—who eat the plants.
People who eat these contaminated plants or animals suffer long-term health risks. One concern is radioactive iodine-131, which can enter the body through contaminated milk and concentrate in the thyroid gland. Children and infants are most susceptible and can develop hypothyroidism and cancer.
Another dangerous byproduct found in fallout is radioactive strontium-90, which can affect the growing bones of children. A now-famous “baby-tooth study” found that strontium-90 levels in the baby teeth of children born between 1945 and 1965 had risen 100-fold over the years correlating with the advent of the atomic age and nuclear testing
