The Horrors of Nuclear Weapons

By Ahnaf Ahmed Prinon | 2025-06-24 07:57:21

To understand the horror of nuclear weapons, one has to look back 80 years. This weapon has only been used for war twice in history—in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. More than 200,000 people died in just two bombs. Thousands of survivors have lived with lifelong physical and mental scars.

As of 2025, there are still more than 12,000 nuclear warheads in the world. That is, the possibility of their use remains. So, if something like this ever happens, it is important to know what could happen.
Let's say a 1-megaton bomb explodes. It is about 80 times more powerful than Hiroshima's Little Boy. Again, it is moderate compared to some modern bombs.

The first shock that will come from the explosion is heat and light. The light and heat will be so intense that those who are even 20 km away from the explosion will see darkness in their eyes for a few minutes. And if it is night, then that distance can increase to 85 km.
Light burns up to 11 km, skin melting within 8 km can occur. However, this depends on the weather, what color clothes you are wearing, and even what kind of buildings or trees are around. Although for those who are very close to the explosion, none of this will be useful.
Because the temperature at the center of the explosion is so terrible—about 100 million degrees Celsius. This heat is 5 times higher than the center of the sun. This much heat can melt a person in an instant and turn them into carbon or elementary particles.
After the heat comes the second shock—the blast wave. This explosion pushes the air from all sides. This sudden change in pressure will collapse the building within 6 km, and the wind speed will be 255 km per hour.

If someone survives all this, then the danger of radiation comes to the fore. The bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were detonated on the ground, so there was no fallout. But if the explosion occurred on land, the consequences would be even more terrible. Dust contaminated with radiation would spread into the air. If it entered the body, it would cause cancer, physical damage, and even generational problems.

A 2019 study said that if the United States and Russia went to a full-scale nuclear war, the world would enter a 'nuclear winter'. As smoke and ash spread into the atmosphere, sunlight would be blocked, there would be a food shortage, and global famine would begin. Another recent study showed that traces of radioactive carbon created from nuclear tests have been found in the Mariana Trench, the deepest trench on earth.
What I have said so far is not a sci-fi story—this is the brutal reality. We are fortunate because the world has not yet faced such a devastating nuclear war. We do not know what will happen in the future.

Source: Science Alert