Why do bombs kill people?

Answer 1

There are several reasons why people die in bomb explosions which correspond to the ways how bombs inflict damage.

The first is overpressure, especially for larger bombs. What happens in this process is that the blast compresses the surround air, sending out a wave of high-pressure air that forces its way into lungs. The human body can only take so much pressure before the lungs rupture and you suffer the unfortunate effects of pulmonary embolism. Overpressure is also very effective against manmade structures such as buildings, leading to structural failure.

Secondly, and a more common cause of death with smaller explosive charges, is shrapnel damage. In larger bombs, the steel bomb case is destroyed and breaks into very fast moving fragments that cause penetration damage and possibly hydrostatic shock. In smaller antipersonnel weapons like grenades there is usually a length of segmented wire or similar material wrapped around the explosive that performs the same function.

Thirdly, especially with incendiary bombs, damage comes from ignition of combustible materials. In many cluster munitions, for example, there is a band of zirconium that is ignited by the explosion and sprayed in every direction. The very high temperatures of the burning zirconium easily ignite most materials, including human flesh, to catastrophic results. Napalm and other similar weapons are designed specifically to kill by burning rather than by the actual explosive blast.

Answer 2

they blow you up http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_nuclear_explosions The energy released from a nuclear weapon detonated in the troposphere can be divided into four basic categories:[1] * Blast-40-50% of total energy * Thermal radiation-30-50% of total energy * Ionizing radiation-5% of total energy * Residual radiation-5-10% of total energy