Originally posted by Beast
One nuke would not destroy continet,
- I agree with this comment.
it could not destroy some big cities even.
- This one I don't.
Assuming we're not going as far as the most massive actual bomb dropped (the Russian 50megaton Tsar air dropped bomb....actually designed as a 100mt
bomb but never exploded as such, they deliberately altered some of the materials to limit the force) because there were so few made lets stick to the
more common 25mt range.
IMO a 25 mt warhead exploded at optimum height would 'kill' - in all meaningful senses of the word/term -
any city on the earth today.
You'd have to be pretty far underground - and stay there quite a while - to survive that and live in the area any length of time.
You'd also want to be very lucky if you end up looking at a nuclear flash......if you're a little too close (and how could you tell?) you could well
end up with your eyes welded to the back of your skull.
Failing that you might just end up blind (which can happen out to great distances, tens of miles, if you stare at the 'fireball'). Temporary
blindness from the indirect scattered light from the flash is also possible but who would knowingly take the chance and have a peep?
Then there's the issue of fall-out and the long term poisoning of the area.....and the fact that the world would go into a long-term economic
nose-dive if any of our cities was 'hit'. So much for our global economy then.
Todays megaton nukes are seriously bad news and if more than a handful get used the material lifted into the upper atmosphere also brings undesirable
effects in the form of nuclear winters etc etc.
Far preferable to actually start making much better efforts (shock....even spending large amounts of money!) at getting along well with each other if
we want much of a future for ourselves and our families IMO.
[edit on 7-9-2004 by sminkeypinkey]
first Fear then Hate the Destruction. 
