Microseconds into the explosion of a nuclear weapon, energy released in the form of X-rays heats the surrounding environment, forming a fireball of superheated air. Inside the fireball, the temperature and pressure are so extreme that all matter is rendered into a hot plasma of bare nuclei and subatomic particles, as is the case in the Sun’s multi-million-degree core.
The fireball following the airburst explosion of a 300-kiloton nuclear weapon—like the W87 thermonuclear warhead deployed on the Minuteman III missiles currently in service in the US nuclear arsenal—can grow to more than 600 meters (2,000 feet) in diameter and stays blindingly luminous for several seconds, before its surface cools.
The light radiated by the fireball’s heat—accounting for more than one-third of the thermonuclear weapon’s explosive energy—will be so intense that it ignites fires and causes severe burns at great distances. The thermal flash from a 300-kiloton nuclear weapon could cause first-degree burns as far as 13 kilometers (8 miles) from ground zero.
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BEN CHACKO FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018 Green MP Caroline Lucas opened proceedings, saying CND was about “hope — not in terms of some fluffy idea but as a very practical response to the huge threats that we face.” The meeting was sponsored by the National Education Union, whose joint general secretary Kevin Courtney sent greetings, while rail union RMT was represented by its president Sean Hoyle. Veteran campaigner Ernest Rodker recalled the first march from Aldermaston and Londoners “singing Don’t You Hear the H Bombs Thunder and cheering the marchers on” while another hero of the peace movement, Bruce Kent, derided the government’s claim to possess an “independent” nuclear deterrent when it is delivered by US missiles. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the existence of CND meant “there has always been a challenge to the idea that you go to war, drop bombs and worry about the consequences afterwards.” Pax Christi general secretary Pat Gaffney detailed the ro...
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