In the following definitions they are defined in reference to "The Horrors of Nuclear War and How to Survive It!" and not necessarily a full definition of the word. They are meant to help you understand what you are reading and a quick reference. The definitions might even help you if you read another book or article about nuclear war and radiation. To get a full definition of some of the words I would suggest you pick up a physics dictionary like the "Oxford Dictionary of Physics" ISBN 978-0-19-871474-3 published by Market House Books Ltd. I use the amount of radiation that you are exposed to as the dosage received. The wording is technically not accurate but useful to keep things simple. Also it is assumed that the dosage is full body exposure and not directed toward a particular body or organ part. This is also not accurate as well but keeps the math down. I think it is complicated enough without adding more technicality and math that is involved in some of this. FEMA provides a good document that you may find helpful titled Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation, Third Edition. You can find another radiation dictionary at the CDC.
A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P R S T U X
absorbed dose-the
amount of radiation exposed and thereby absorbed by a person or by a
particular body system. The amount of radiation that is absorbed does
depend on whether the whole body is irradiated or only certain body
systems are exposed. Certain body systems are more susceptible to
radiation than by others. The unit of absorbed dose is the gray. It
is defined as 1 Gy = 1 J/kg. Where J is joule and kg is kilogram. The
original unit was defined as the rad but I will try to use SI which
is the gray.
acute radiation sickness-when
a person is exposed to a lot of radiation in a short amount of time
(less than 24 hours) the body can not cope with that much radiation
and the person gets very sick and is likely to perish in a short
amount of time but not without suffering a great deal. Radiation is
fatal for 95% of the population for dosages of >600 R. You can
find out more information about acute radiation on CDC's
Acute Radiation Page.
air burst-when
the nuclear bomb goes off at an altitude less than 100,000 feet but
high enough that the fireball does not touch the ground.
ALARA-it
stands for as low as reasonable achievable. During radiation
treatment of cancer you will only expose the person to the lowest
amount of radiation that can achieve your goal of curing the person
of cancer. Any more than that is dangerous and is unconscionable. You
want to cure the patient not kill them or cause them to have cancer
in the future.
alpha radiation-the
particle that is given off is made up of a nucleus of a helium atom
and is considered alpha radiation. When alpha radiation is given off
the particle does not penetrate very far. A piece of paper or air can
stop the particle. It is most dangerous when it is ingested or
breathed in. For clarity it is 2 protons and 2 neutrons.
atomic
bomb-an atomic bomb is a fission bomb that uses Uranium
or Plutonium as apposed to a fusion bomb. When a atomic bomb goes off
it has the following types of killing characteristics: radiation,
thermal energy, very high winds, and crushing pressure. It is a
weapon of terror and is the stuff of nightmares. It is also a weapon
that can kill all life on this planet if used.
atoms-in
simple terms it is made up of three small particles: electrons,
protons, and neutrons. The number of protons determines what the atom
is called. For instance Carbon is made up of 6 protons and is
therefore the sixth element on the Periodic Table of Elements. An
element has more sub-particles but for this discussion we will limit
it to the three.
beta radiation--is
a electron. It is higher in energy than alpha radiation but has less
energy than gamma radiation. It can be stopped with a little
shielding like wood but will not necessarily be stopped by paper or
clothes like alpha radiation.
blast wave-there
is a wave front of winds and pressure that has the blast as its
center. That wave front is called the blast wave. At first it expands
from the blast and eventual reverses and goes toward the bombs center
as the air rises. Like a ripple caused by a pebble being thrown into
a still pond. It goes out like a the ripple but unlike the ripple it
reverses and it is sucked backward due to heat and differing
pressures. See thermal wave as the other type of energy given off by
the nuclear bomb.
cancer-within
about 2 years you need to keep checking for leukemia's and after
about 10 years you should check for other cancers caused by the
radiation from a nuclear blast. Your cells are very good at
protecting its DNA and RNA but with large doses of radiation it
exceeds the cells ability to protect the cell thus causing cell death
or cancer.
centrifuges-they are very
high speed centrifuges used to concentrate the uranium ore into
uranium-235. The centrifuges need to be expertly engineered so they
do not become unbalanced and just fly apart. There are hundreds of
centrifuges used in the concentration of the uranium ore to weapons
grade uranium. There is very little of the uranium-235 mixed in the
uranium ore, less than 1%. Almost all of it is uranium-238.
deuterium-it is
hydrogen with one proton and one neutron. Sometimes called heavy
water.
dosimeter-it is a device that
can detect different types of radiation and X-Rays and help you
determine how much radiation and X-Rays you have been exposed too. It
does not necessarily need to be electronic but can be a device or
film when it is exposed to radiation and X-Rays it changes and after
a certain amount of time is taken to be "read". This method
is often used by X-Ray techs. I have a credit card sized card that
when it is exposed turns different colors depending on the amount of
radiation and X-Rays it is exposed to and it lets me know how much
radiation and X-rays I am exposed too. The usual dosimeter measures
gamma and beta radiation and X-Rays but does not detect alpha
radiation. A special attachment or a different device needs to be
used to detect alpha radiation. See also Gieger counter.
early radiation
sickness-when a person is exposed to a dose of radiation
they can have radiation sickness. There are many factors that
determine how sick a person gets like how much radiation they were
exposed to, how long they were exposed, and how far they were from
the source of radiation. Radiation sickness comes and goes and comes
back again. I designate early radiation sickness as the first bout of
illness before the symptoms seem to go away. It is sometimes hard to
distinguish between a dose that just makes you sick and is not fatal
from a fatal dose. The symptoms are: nausea and vomiting, hair
falling out, sunburn and/or blisters, some bleeding in urine and
feces, spontaneous abortion, headaches, fever, infections, and some
others. The symptoms seem to go away as your body tries to repair
itself. Then as the bone marrow dies after a period of time the
symptoms come back. As a treatment for cancer like leukemia,
radiation is used to kill the cancer cells in the bone marrow and
allow the normal cells to take over the bone marrow. So if you do not
get enough of a dose to kill your bone marrow totally than given
enough time the bone marrow will recover. However, risks of infection
and bleeding may cause the person to perish before this can be
achieved. See also acute radiation sickness.
electromagnetic
pulse-when a nuclear bomb explodes it causes a
electromagnetic pulse that burns out transistors which are in
computers, radios, and other electronic devices making them
inoperable. The area this occurs depends on a number of factors. If a
nuclear bomb goes off at an altitude greater than 100,000 feet it is
considered a high altitude burst. This can effect large areas. It is
theorized that it would not take to many high altitude bursts to
completely put the United States back to the pre-industrial era.
electromagnetic waves-a photon of
different energies gives us the electromagnetic spectrum. Different
types of energy fall on this electromagnetic spectrum. For instance
visible light falls on this spectrum along with radio waves,
ultraviolet light, infrared light, and others. Gamma radiation is
highly energetic and falls on one end of the spectrum. Hard and Soft
X-rays fall just below gamma radiation. That is why gamma radiation
is so dangerous. It is highly energized. Soft X-rays are not as
highly energized but still high enough in energy to cause damage to
the human body. Given that gamma radiation and soft x-rays are
photons of electromagnetic energy and is given off during a nuclear
explosion is why this is brought up. This is a over simplification of
this concept but it is important to understanding what gamma
radiation and x-rays are. You can view a electromagnetic spectrum of
electromagnetic waves at NASA.
electrons-in an atom the electrons
orbit a nucleus. Since the electron orbits a nucleus it is "exposed"
enough that it can be knocked away from the atom giving us beta
radiation. It has mass and has a negative electric charge even if the
mass is very small.
equivalent dose-different
parts of the body react to radiation to more or less degrees. So
equivalent dose is given by an absorbed dose multiplied by a
radiation weight factor for that part of the body or organ:
equivalent dose, H (Sv) = absorbed dose (Gy) X WR.
Sv is called a sievert. It gives a value that will tell you if that
particular organ or body part is at risk for cancer or genetic
damage. It is easier to use this value for treatment since the
radiation will be pointed toward a certain area or organ. A full body
exposure would be harder to use this value since multiple organs will
be given a dose.
fallout-it is
the material that is vaporized and sucked up into the air by the
nuclear blast and becomes radioactive. Eventually over time the
material comes back down in what is called fallout. Even if you are
not close to the fireball you can still get a dose of radioactivity
from the fallout. It follows the wind patterns so if you are downwind
move away from the fallout as quickly as you can to protect yourself
from the deadly fallout. Some will come down in the rain so if the
rain is "black" or has material in it the rain probably
contains a lot of fallout and you should get to shelter as quickly as
possible for protection. When you come out of your shelter be very
wary of bodies of water since rain has a tendency to wash the
radioactive material to bodies of water. Boiling or adding water
purification will not remove the radioactive particles. You need to
filter it. I have extra cotton fill and activated charcoal for fish
tanks to accomplish this in an emergency such as this plus the water
purification pills. I have been told that a well packaged food will
not become radioactive. So you can eat the packaged food. I personal
would use my gieger counter to test it before consumption and make
sure a can is not bloated or the food does not smell to bad when
opened. Also, you will need to start to grow food using
non-radioactive dirt and water. So seeds are a necessary commodity.
faraday cage-if you enclose a
electronic device in a conductive metal container or material it can
help negate the electromagnetic pulse and protect the electronic
device from being fried. You can purchase faraday cage bags or
material to wrap a device in from the internet or you can make your
own by using a conductive metal container. Some people say using a
metal barrel with sand in it so you can put the device in the middle
is a great way to protect electronic equipment. There is no guaranty
that the item will be protected but it couldn't hurt. The most
important things to protect would be a radio and a radiation detector
so you could possibly get updates but there may not be any radio
stations left after a nuclear exchange. The problem will probably be
batteries. They may not last long enough for the military to start
broadcasting after a while. Remember the experiment you may have done
in physics or chemistry where you used potatoes to create a battery
or you can buy a radio that uses solar power or a hand crank to
create electricity. A radiation detector can help you decide when you
can go outside again. This is sometimes called hardening the device.
firestorm-when a fire or multiple fire
creates its own weather patterns. During World War II a firestorm was
created by conventional bombs in Dresden, Germany. A firestorm can
create a fire tornado which compounds the effects of the fire. When a
nuclear weapon goes off its thermal energy creates an expansion of
heat outward but since heat rises there is vacuum created and there
is a rush of air back toward the vacuum causing a mushroom cloud that
rises. A nuclear explosion used to be discussed in terms of a
firestorm but I have not heard it used in this sense in a long time.
fission-fission is when a neutron is
given off from an isotope and collides with the nucleus of the
isotope next to it to give off two to three more neutrons. If the
collisions produce enough collisions with other isotopes creating a
self sustainable reaction then it reaches super criticality and a
nuclear explosion occurs. There has to be enough of the collisions to
kept the collisions going or the isotope is said to be sub-critical.
Remember that the nucleus is very small so that is why a implosion is
used to create the nuclear explosion. It helps to overcome the
repulsive nuclear forces and bring the atoms closer together so the
odds of neutrons bombarding the other nucleus' is increased. That is
why the gun type nuclear bomb is less efficient and probably not
likely be used anymore. There is an interesting demonstration of
fission at the JavaLab.
fission products-when radioactive
Uranium or Plutonium gives off radiation the material that is left
can and is often radioactive itself. That is why you have to be
careful of the products of radioactive materials that give off
radiation as well as the original bomb material you start off with.
Some of the products to watch out for are radioactive Strontium,
Cesium, Iodine, etc. after a nuclear explosion. These products have
different half lives as well and some of them are very bad for you
even if they were not radioactive.
flash
blindness-if you are looking at a nuclear flash it is so
bright that it can blind you. The blindness can be permanent or be
temporary so it is best not to be looking at the flash.
fusion-is
what makes a atomic bomb into a thermonuclear bomb or H-Bomb. The
reason is the fission reaction is used to create a fusion reaction in
addition to the fission reaction. The sun uses the fusion of hydrogen
to helium to keep it going. A thermonuclear bomb uses the fusion
method like hydrogen to helium or another material is used instead of
hydrogen like lithium. Thus the name H-Bomb for hydrogen fusion.
Deuterium and tritium are usually used instead of hydrogen even
though they are different forms of hydrogen. The fusion increases the
yield of the bomb making it "stronger" and more deadly.
gamma radiation-it
is the high energy electromagnetic radiation given off by isotopes.
It can cause a great amount of damage to the body due to its ability
to penetrate deep into the body and through it. Gamma radiation
damages the cells of the body and the DNA in the cells causing cell
death or cancer. The best defense is to limit the amount of exposure
to gamma radiation to ALARA or none depending on how it is used.
Remember it is used to treat patients with cancer as well as used for
weapons.
Geiger counter-is a device
that can measure radiation. You might of seen the yellow devices that
Civil Defense used to detect radiation in the day. Now they have
different looking devices that can detect different types of
radiation and X-Rays. To detect alpha radiation you either need a
specific device to detect it or have a special attachment that
connects to your device. They usually give you CPM, Sieverts, or
Roentgens. Remember you will probably want to print a unit to symptom
table so you can interpret what symptoms you are going to have given
the amount of Sieverts or Roentgens you receive. You may want to add
a dosimeter that is not electronic to your supplies given that the
Geiger counter may be knocked out by a EMP pulse given the computer
part of the device. See dosimeter.
ground zero-it
is the ground point right underneath the nuclear blast. When you talk
about the characteristics of the nuclear explosion going out to a
mile you are measuring the distance from ground zero to a mile out.
half life-a
radioactive atom does not give off radiation linearly. It gives off
half of the radiation for a specific atom for the atoms half life.
Lets say we have a substance made up of I-131. I-131 has a half life
of 8 days. So after 8 days there will only be half of the
radioactivity than originally. After 16 days it will be half that
meaning that it will have a quarter of the radioactivity then what we
started off with and after 8 more days it will be half that or
decreased 1/16th of what it was. That is what is meant by half life.
Each radioactive atom has its own half life. Plutonium-239 for
instance has a half life of about 24,000 years so you do not want
that lying around. Uranium has a half life of about 7 x 108 years or
700 million years.
high altitude burst-it
is a nuclear bomb that goes off above 100,000 feet. You certainly do
not get the heat (thermal energy), winds and pressure, and the amount
of radiation of lower altitude burst. You would do this to cause a
electromagnetic wave that is spread out a lot more than a lower burst
and covers a greater area. This is a significant problem to all the
electronic equipment that we use today. That alone could put us back
to the pre-industrial age.
hydrogen bomb-a
hydrogen or thermonuclear bomb uses fusion as well as fission to
create a larger more damaging nuclear explosion than just a fission
bomb or atomic bomb alone.
implosion-an
inward rather than an outward explosion. It is used more often than a
gun like type of nuclear bomb. One half of the nuclear material is
aimed at the other half and blown together to create the nuclear
explosion. It is inefficient and wasteful way to create a nuclear
explosion. If they direct all the force inward it creates a more
efficient and cleaner nuclear explosion. It is a battle between
keeping the radioactive material close enough to keep it fissioning
and the outward forces of blowing it apart.
initial
radiation-it is all the gamma radiation and X-Rays that
is created during the nuclear explosion as compared to the fallout.
ionizing radiation-is the high energy
radiation that can knock a electron off a atom thus creating ions.
The ions can cause damage to a cell thus making it dangerous to the
human body.
isotopes-a isotope is atom
that has more neutrons than protons in the nucleus. When the neutrons
exit the nucleus it gives off or causes energy in the form of gamma,
beta, and alpha radiation. One neutron can cause two to three
neutrons of the atoms next to it to give off there neutrons. When a
cascade is created using isotopes of Uranium or Plutonium to keep the
fissioning going you can have a self sustaining nuclear reaction
causing a nuclear explosion. The trick is to keep them just close
enough to the self sustaining reaction without reaching super
criticality until the desired time you want the nuclear explosion to
go off.
kiloton-a nuclear explosion is compared to the chemical explosion of TNT. One kiloton is equal to 1000 TONS of TNT which is a huge amount of TNT. It would be very difficult to deliver 1000 tons of TNT to one spot to deliver a one kiloton explosion without being discovered.
latent radiation sickness-if you are exposed to an amount of radiation that does not outright kill you then you can go through radiation sickness and then feel better for a little while and then BAMB. You get sick again. This second bout is called latent radiation sickness. That is one of the cruel things about radiation. You think you have gone through the worst of it and then you get sick again and possibly die the second time around. The latent radiation sickness is caused by bone marrow death. The White and Red Cells along with Platelets are grown in the bone marrow. So if you have those cells die then you are susceptible to infections, bleeding, other symptoms.
megaton-a
megaton is a 1000 kilotons of TNT and a kiloton is 1000 TONS of TNT.
So you are looking at 1,000,000 TONS of TNT. In a nuclear explosion
that much energy is given off in a split second.
mirror-it
is used to keep the neutrons confined in the implosion so the
fissionable material in the nuclear bomb is used up in the reaction.
It makes the explosion more efficient and "stronger".
Remember it is a battle between blowing apart and the all the isotope
fissioning creating the explosion.
mushroom
cloud-when a nuclear explosion occurs a pressure wave is
created that goes outward. After the pressure wave reaches it's
greatest distance, the air starts to fill back due to the displaced
air the explosion caused (pressure gradient) and the heat starts to
rise in the air. This causes a mushroom like cloud filled with
radioactive debris that will fall back down to earth as fallout. If
you see a large chemical explosion you see the same thing but without
the radioactive debris and fallout. I saw a oil plant explode once
and saw the upward explosive ball that looked like a mushroom and it
deposited a oily substance on our house miles away from the actual
explosion. People died in that explosion. I am talking about the
Texas City Refinery (TCR) explosion around 1980.
neutron-is one
of the three fundamental elements that we have discussed. It has mass
but does not have a electrical charge. When the neutrons outnumber
the protons in the nucleus of an atom it is called an isotope. A self
sustaining neutron generation of neutrons is what creates a nuclear
explosion.
neutron initiator-it is in
the center of a nuclear bomb but it can be external to it as well
using another method. It is used to create a burst of neutrons to
help start the self sustaining neutron generation creating a nuclear
explosion. Beryllium and polonium are brought together to create a
burst of neutrons in the center of the bomb sometimes called the pit.
non-ionizing radiation-it is the lower
energy radiation that does not knock off electrons from a atom. It
makes it less dangerous to the human body than ionizing radiation.
nuclear winter-some people believe that
if there is a major exchange of nuclear weapons that the amount of
debris thrown into the atmosphere will block off sunlight thus
causing the temperatures to go down. I think this will be the case
plus other horrible things will happen to the environment. Nuclear
war is not only bad for humans but also for the animals and the
environment.
nucleus-it is the center
of the atom that contains the neutrons and protons. It is very small
and in some cases considered difficult to get at.
overpressure-it is the pressure increase caused by the nuclear explosion. It is measured in PSI in the US. It is like scuba diving. The farther you go down into the ocean the higher the pressure is and like in the movies it crushes things like the human body and submarines. See blast wave.
periodic table of elements-
Periodic
Table of Elements
plutonium-plutonium-239
is used in making a nuclear bomb. It has a half life of about 24,110
years and is usually produced in a nuclear reactor.
proton-protons
are positively charged and have mass. The number of protons is what
determines what a element is called.
radiation-is unseen and you can not taste
it and you can not feel it while you are being exposed. That is one
of the reasons why it is so dangerous. You can be exposed to a lethal
dose and not even know it until it is to late. There are three
different types of radioactive radiation caused by isotopes called
alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. Alpha radiation is the nucleus of a
helium atom. One way Beta radiation is created is that the electron
is ripped from a atom that has been collided with a neutron. Gamma
radiation is the electromagnetic energy that is given off by
collisions of neutrons with the nucleus of the isotope atom next to
it. X-rays are also given off during a nuclear explosion. The
radiation given off during the nuclear explosion causes the vaporized
debris to become radioactive and come back down as fallout. Radiation
is also used for peaceful purposes such as nuclear energy and is used
to kill cancer cells.
radiation detector-there
are various ways to detect radiation. There are even ways to
determine what isotopes are causing the radiation. However, the most
common and cheapest way to detect radiation in a radiation detector
is a Geiger-Muller tube. It is used to detect the beta and gamma
radiation and X-rays given off by a nuclear bomb and fallout. You do
not really need to know which isotope is giving off the radiation.
Just how much is being given off so you can determine the dosage you
are receiving and which areas are clean. The other methods are
usually to cumbersome and expensive and usually found at research and
government facilities. You can use the Geiger counter to determine
how much radiation is being given off so you can keep the total dose
below 70 R. You will get a little sick but most people will recover.
If you receive a 200 R dose 5% of the population will perish. 600 R
is given as the dose that 95% of the population will perish. These
are used for people with little to no treatment. Everybody is
different and can tolerate more or less radiation. It is best to go
with the less amount to make sure you are not likely to die. Survival
is the goal here.
radiation protection-the
principles of radiation protection are time, distance, and shielding.
Time is not necessarily on your side. One of the problems depends on
the isotope and it's half life. If it is 24,000 years you are looking
at a long time for the radiation to decrease. During fission there
are going to be some other isotopes that are produced as byproducts
and that do not have such long half lives and therefore the radiation
will decrease over time. So time is going to help but how much
depends on other factors like how many bombs went off and how big
they were and where were you in relation to explosions? Also, since
you may be in a shelter for a while you will need food and water. If
your shelter does not have food and water then like I said time is
not on your side. You may have to leave to get somewhere where you
are more protected or you may have to find access to food and water.
The distance is going to help a lot. If you are not at or near ground
zero and your not downwind of the fallout you will be in good shape.
So get as far as you can from ground zero and try to stay away from
the fallout. Knowing wind patterns for your area can be very helpful
as well. I have a hand held device that will tell me the wind
direction, temperature, atmospheric pressure, plus other parameters.
Shielding is probably your best bet. Before the fallout reaches you
get to a good shelter if you can. Put as much distance as you can
from the exterior of the shelter (for distance) and the more
thickness of the walls the better. The type of shielding is important
as well. Different barriers will provide different protection. Steel
would be best but how many buildings are made out of adequate steal
or metal? I am not talking about aluminum siding. That will not
provide you any protection. A steel ship might do a good job but that
will probably be at a port and that will probably be hit with a
nuclear bomb. Concrete is pretty dense and depending on the thickness
it can provide you with good protection. It is certainly a cheaper
building material than steel. Dirt provides some protection but more
is needed between you and the radiation than concrete. The deeper you
dig into the ground for the shelter the better and the more dirt you
can put on top of the shelter the better as well since it will
provide more shielding for you. Make sure air can get into your
shelter so that you will not asphyxiate. It should be noted that if
you have the money and the time you can build a decent shelter before
any of this happens. The closer to you the better since you will
probably need to get away quickly to lessen the exposure to
radiation. If you are planning to drive to your shelter remember the
electromagnetic pulse will probably knock out your vehicle and you
will probably be walking. That also means that you may have to go
through fallout as well which will give you a dose of radiation.
People are dangerous when scared so that will be a concern as well.
Also, get a Geiger counter. You can use it to determine if you are in
good spot and whether or not you are going to get a fatal dose of
radiation if you stay at that particular shelter. It also can be used
to determine if it is safe to leave your shelter. Radiation is
cumulative. If you are being exposed to 25 R per hour than in three
hours you will be exposed to 75 R and that should be the limit for
all emergency personnel and if the background radiation is still at a
high rate then the limit should be lowered. You want to keep it low
enough so that a person, even emergency personnel, will not reach a
fatal dosage. After a few more hours at that exposure rate it will
become fatal pretty quickly. One thing to remember is that you need
to keep small children from walking on there own. The reason being is
that a small person is closer to the ground and thus there vital
organs are closer to the ground where the fallout is and will receive
a higher dose to the vital organs than a normal adult. Animals like a
dog would get a higher dose to there vital organs than a normal adult
as well. You can plan and plan but when those bombs start flying then
everything is going to be your best judgment you and must rely on
yourself. So being informed is a very good strategy.
radiation
sickness-radiation dosages can cause a number of
symptoms and make you very sick. A dosage of <200 R usually is not
fatal. It can cause the following symptoms: Nausea and vomiting,
Diarrhea, Headache, Fever, Dizziness and disorientation, Weakness and
fatigue, Hair loss, Bloody vomit and stools, Infections, Spontaneous
abortions, Sun Burn and possibly blisters, and Low blood pressure.
Remember there is a latent phase where you may not feel bad and then
the symptoms come back. Some of these symptoms are in the late phase
due to the bone marrow being suppressed or killed. That is where the
white cells, red cells, and platelets are produced. The white cells
prevent infections while the red cells carry oxygen to the body and
the platelets keep you from bleeding to death. A dose of 200-600 R
increase the risk of fatality and a dose of >600 R are likely to
cause fatality and a great amount of misery. When you get a dose of
>600 your mental acuity is decreased. Confusion, Dizziness, and
disorientation with death not long afterward. The symptoms of someone
that will not die and someone who has a fatal dose overlap so you
have to be careful in your determination of there status. You can go
to the CDC radiation thermometer to asses risks from a particular
dose: CDC
Thermometer. I have a graphic on my phone and a poster on my wall
that has the dosage versus risks. I also have it in books and
reference materials. Since I carry a card on me at all times that
will give me the ball park dosage I receive I will know at least if I
am going to survive. I also carry a NukAlert as well.
residual radiation-it
is the amount of radioactive materials that are left after the
initial burst from the fission. Most of this I would consider would
come back down as fallout. Do not forget the radioactive material at
ground zero as well. You want to stay clear of ground zero due to the
heavy radioactivity and fires from the thermal energy. I consider
there to be two types of residual radiation. One is the Uranium or
Plutonium of the bomb material that did not fission and the material
that becomes radioactive due to neutrons bombarding it and making it
radioactive. I think somebody called this neutrification. An example
of this I read about was that the coral that was vaporized and became
radioactive and came down as fallout on a Japanese fishing boat and
contaminating it.
Roentgen (R)-the
roentgen is 2.58 × 10−4 C/kg where C is Coulombs and kg is
kilogram. It is really not used much today but some graphics that
show radiation symptoms to R are still around. It is used in a lot of
the documentation that I have read over the years (1950's-). So I use
it out of habit. See Sieverts. It is used today instead of R.
7 to 10 rule of thumb-
Rate7(n) = Rateinitial x 10%(n)
,where n is a whole number. 7(n)
is the amount of time that has past in hours and 10%(n) is
the amount of decrease over that amount of time. You can make a graph
where the x-axis is 7(n) hours and the y-axis is the
Rate7(n) which is in the same
units of the initial reading. The Rateinitial is
the highest rate of radiation exposure (example: R/hr) before it
starts to decrease. If the amount of radiation keeps going up then
there is more fallout falling and will make your calculations
inaccurate because it will take longer for the fallout to be at a
survivable level. The 7/10 rule is an approximation but can give you
some information about how long to stay in your shelter. Without a
Gieger counter you are taking a greater risk if you leave your
shelter early or even if your shelter is even protecting you
currently. Two weeks is the general amount of time that is given in
the documentation for you to shelter if you have nothing to collect
data on the radiation. It assumes that the fallout will be around
1000 R/hr in the beginning which is possible but highly unlikely
because a lot of factors. However, use your best judgment. A lot of
factors can change the amount of time you should stay in your
shelter. So the longer you can stay in your shelter the better your
chances will be that the radiation has decreased to survivable
levels. The 7/10 rule is usually stated as for 7(n) hours
the radiation will decrease by 10%. I found the following formula on
the web site
https://9to5science.com/can-the-7-10-rule-of-thumb-for-radiation-be-understood-theoretically:
Radiation = 10(log10 (radiation(0)) - (1.183 (log10 (time))))
If you start off with 1000
R/hr you get the following (7,100), (49, 10), (343, 1), (2401, 0.1),
(16807, 0.01) where the x-values are in hours and the y-value is in
R/hr. If you start off with a lower number then you will get
different values. Of course always watch your units.
severe radiation sickness-mimics regular radiation
sickness at first but after a short time you experience severe mental
and psychological problems and leads to death pretty quickly. This
occurs when you receive a large dosage of radiation of say >600 R.
When you get a high dosage of radiation you can get very sick but if
you minimal treat the symptoms of the person they could survive.
Everybody is different so the data is for risk and not set in
granite. See acute radiation sickness and also treatment.
shadow people-the thermal energy produces a lot of
heat and light. Because of this, the body is vaporized and since the
body blocks some of this light a shadow is produced behind the
person. These shadows are called shadow people because of the shadow
of a person is left behind.
shelters-see
radiation protection.
shielding-see
radiation protection.
Sieverts (Sv)-1
Sv = 1 joule/kg where kg is kilogram of body tissue. "The
sievert represents the equivalent biological effect of the deposit of
a joule of radiation energy in a kilogram of human tissue." From
Sievert on Wikipedia: Sievert.
super criticality-during
fission neutrons are given off all the time. When you put enough of
the isotope together or bombard the material with neutrons that cause
the isotope to keep a self-sustained reaction of neutrons going the
isotope is said to reach super criticality and gives off a great deal
of energy and radiation. It is the principle behind a nuclear bomb.
You put enough of the isotope together just below super criticality
and by some method cause the material reach super criticality. That
is why the bomb does not just go off sitting on top a missile. It is
just below criticality. The implosion is enough to put enough of the
isotope in a denser area thus allowing for the self-sustained
reaction to occur. I read once that this was called, "tickling
the tail of the dragon."
surface burst-a surface burst is a nuclear explosion
where the fireball reaches the ground. It causes more material to
come down as fallout and leaves a crater. This method is used to
destroy underground bunkers like command and control centers, missile
silos, air fields, etc.
tamper-it
is used to slow down the nuclear reaction to keep the reaction at
super criticality longer which allows for more of the material to be
used in the explosion. I would think it helps make it more efficient
and more deadly. There are two forces at play here. One is the energy
that is being created that wants to expand. The other is the
implosion that is forcing the material to stay in proximity to allow
for the self sustained reaction to keep producing more energy.
Eventually the explosion wins out and the material will be blown
apart where the material can not continue to produce more energy. If
the material is blown apart before super criticality is reached then
you have a "fizzle" and you do not have a nuclear
explosion.
treatment-there
is no real treatment to prevent death or certain cancers for now. You
can take Iodine to flood your body with non-radioactive Iodine so the
radioactive Iodine will not cause Thyroid cancer. That helps with
just the Thyroid and not with other problems. Prevention is key. Do
not eat or drink water that contains radioactive elements and use a
decent shelter. If you get dosed with radiation remember you can
treat the symptoms. Diarrhea and vomiting can cause you electrolyte
problems which can kill by themselves. Drinking clean water with
Gatorade, Pedalyte or others added can help you keep your
electrolytes balanced. Tylenol and Aspirin can keep fever down and
deal with headaches. Antibiotics can help with infections if you have
those. Sun burn cream can help with sun burns and iron and Vitamin
B12 can help replace some of the iron and
Vitamin B12 that is needed for production of
red blood cells. Anti-Oxidant foods and vitamins plus multiple
vitamins can replace some of the vitamins lost from diarrhea and
vomiting and they may help to prevent some cancers. These can help
keep you more comfortable but will not "cure" you and
remember you will need them again in the latent phase of radiation
sickness. There are two others things you need to keep in mind. First
would be to watch out for cataracts and the second would be flash
blindness. They are two things I personally do not know what you
could do to help or treat. Hospitals during this time may be
unavailable or overfilled so there may not be any treatment except
for what you can give yourself. Even if there is treatment you may
perish anyway. The firemen at Chernobyl is a good example since they
recieved treatment but still perished because of the high dose of
radiation they received. You can read "Military Radiobiology"
by Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute ISBN 0-12-184050-6
published by Academic Press Inc. in 1987 for more information on what
chemicals have been used to help with radiation sickness even though
they really didn't find anything because the chemicals were to toxic.
thermal energy-when
a nuclear bomb goes off there is heat and light given off and this is
caused by the thermal energy that is produced by the fission. This
can cause flash blindness if a person is looking at the explosion. A
person can be burned by the thermal energy and depending on what the
person is wearing can leave burn patterns in there skin. On the
presentation that is available on this site is a picture of a
unfortunate Japanese woman from Hiroshima with a burn pattern on her
back from her clothes. The heat can cause from first degree burns to
third degree burns. Also the thermal energy can cause fires around
the area of the explosion depending on the composition of the
material in the area. Especially the combustible material. The fires
may not kill you directly as well. When material burns it produces
toxic smoke that can kill you as well. If you listen to the news, a
lot people die from smoke inhalation as well as the toxic substances
in the air due to what is being burned. It takes three things for a
fire to burn: fuel, ignition source, and oxygen. So I have a theory
as well, if there is a large exchange and a lot forest is burned that
the oxygen levels may be lower and will remain low since there are
not enough plants left for the oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange. That
is one of the fears of burning in the Amazon is that the CO2
will increase and create a green house effect as well as the nuclear
winter. I think the amount of material put into the air as well as
the burning will make it very hard for the survivors. Maybe even
impossible to live on the surface. The environmental impact can not
be underestimated.
thermonuclear
blast-another name for hydrogen bomb. It uses
fission to jump start a fusion reaction. Different forms of hydrogen
are used in the fusion reaction. Hydrogen with a extra neutron is
called Deuterium and hydrogen with two extra neutrons is called
Tritium and both of these are used to create the fusion part of the
thermonuclear bomb. A thermonuclear bomb can be in the megaton range
and is a terrible bomb to be used.
tritium-it
another name for hydrogen with two extra neutrons in the nucleus
which is used in a thermonuclear bomb.
units of radiation-you can find some definitions at CDC and do some conversions at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Uranium-half
life of Uranium-235 is 703,800,000 years. When Uranium ore is mined
it is more than 99% Uranium-238. High speed centrifuges are used to
help remove the Uranium-235 from the ore for nuclear bombs. Of course
it is a little more complicated than what I describe. The high speed
centrifuges are used to refine Uranium for nuclear reactors as well
as nuclear bombs and have been in the news. It is feared that Iran
will use the high speed centrifuges to refine enough Uranium into
weapons grade Uranium and make nuclear bombs. This scares a few
people because of Iran's rhetoric of wanting to destroy Israel (the
little Satan) and the United States (the big Satan). That is why
secret high speed centrifuges are being searched for to see if they
are making nuclear bombs.
x-rays-a nuclear explosion also gives off x-rays. On the electromagnetic spectrum they are lower in energy than gamma rays but right up there with them. Sometimes you might hear them called soft x-rays which are still x-rays but just have a little lower energy. See electromagnetic waves.
by Micah J. Kimbrough
email: admin@ourgreatideas.org
Last update January 14, 2025