Doomsday is here.
A nuclear bomb
has just unleashed hell
right in front of your eyes.
The land turns to ash and scatters
in the wind in just moments.
You have mere seconds to get to safety.
Once that missile launches,
you can't escape what's coming next.
But what are you facing?
Four types of energy
are about to be unleashed.
First, a blast wave would rip through
the landscape,
knocking you around like a rag doll
and destroying buildings.
After that, brace yourself
for intense light,
followed by skin-melting heat
and deadly radiation.
Then a hot bubble of gas
will form a fireball
that will vaporize everything inside it.
All that dust debris
will shoot up into the air,
creating the iconic mushroom cloud.
Even if you somehow
survived this nightmare,
why would your life
never be the same again?
So far, only one nation
has used a nuclear bomb
against its enemy.
The first of the two bombs
dropped on Japan by the U.S.
during WWII, Little Boy,
decimated Hiroshima.
It had the
strength of 15 kilotons of TNT.
That's nothing compared
to what nuclear weapons are packing today.
The most powerful
is 80 times stronger
than what hit Hiroshima.
While that would be devastating
and level everything for miles,
it wouldn't make our planet
a nuclear wasteland.
You, on the other hand?
You wouldn't be so lucky.
If you happened to be
in the blast vicinity,
your days would be numbered.
Remember that intense bright light?
Well, that flash
is strong enough to burn your skin off.
These intense flash burns can be fatal,
and they killed
50% of the people who died in Japan.
And here’s hoping you didn’t stare directly
into that blast,
because this devastating light
would oversaturate
your retinal pigments
and leave you blind.
Flash blindness can go away
after two minutes
if the explosion happens during the day.
But at night
you could be blinded for much longer.
And if you weren't sheltered,
you may not survive what's coming next.
In just a fraction of a second,
the nuclear fireball
would expand out
like a balloon, rising into the sky.
The heat from that fireball
would send out a blast wave
that would rip
you and the ground under you apart.
If you didn’t make it indoors before the blast
the supersonic wave might kill you
by ripping off your skin
or sending you flying through the air.
Then a violent burst of thermal radiation
would be released
and head right toward you.
Unfortunately for you,
it's only going to get worse.
Next, a second pulse would hit,
lasting a few seconds this time.
This wave would carry 99%
of the total
thermal radiation from the nuke.
You could be
8 km (5 mi) away
and still suffer first-degree burns
from this detonation.
And that all would happen
in a matter of moments.
Then, the resulting mushroom cloud would
tower above everything.
So what would you do now?
Even if you only suffered
third-degree burns,
the pain would be enough
to send your body into instant shock.
Hospitals,
if there were any left in the area,
would be so overrun with other victims
that you might not get treated for hours.
Gamma and neutron radiation
would cover everything
the first minute after the blast.
If you somehow lived
through that blast wave
and the fiery heat,
this radiation might kill you.
As the dust settles,
the radioactive particles
would penetrate everything,
making the blast site
hazardous for months, if not years.
Radiation exposure
could lead to brain seizures and cancer.
It might even reduce
the lymphocyte cells in your blood.
That would increase your risk
for infections.
To avoid that lethal fallout,
you'd have to run and hide.
You'd have about 10 minutes
before the radiation hits.
So hustle and get to a concrete or brick
building to shelter you
for the next 24 hours.
And you’re going to want to get naked.
If you take off your irradiated clothes,
you could remove up to 90%
of the radioactive material clinging to you.
So save your modesty for another time.
Since you've stripped down,
wash yourself with soap and water
to get rid of any remaining
radioactive particles.
There probably wouldn't
be any power left,
but you'd have to keep the air conditioning
and the fans off if there was.
Otherwise, contaminated
air from the outside could come in.
No matter how safe you are,
you can never guarantee that
nuclear annihilation is far away.
After all, the U.S.
and Russia own 90% of the world's
nuclear weapons.
So what would happen
if Russia launched a nuke?
Get to the shelter and keep watching,
because that's a story for another
WHAT IF.