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Atomic (also known as fission) bombs kill by three methods: heat, blast, and radiation. All of these effects are reduced as the distance from the detonation point increases; doubling the distnce from the detonation point reduces the effects by 1/4.

Heat is obvious - the temperature produced by a typical atom bomb can approach that of the sun. You would need to shield your body from intense heat (up to several thousand degrees C) to survive.

Blast can also be called a pressure or force wave. A blast wave can mimic a very strong wind - something that feels like 1000 mile per hour wind. Naturally, such a wave will knock down or throw things around. A bomb the size of Hiroshima produced a blast wave strong enough to completely flatten a normal wood-frame house up to 3 miles away.

Radiation in the form of gamma and x-rays, and alpha particals, kills via disrupting normal cellular function. Heavy shielding with a dense material (lead, thick concrete, very thick soil) is the only way to protect yourself.

In reality, the only way to survive a atomic bomb blast is to be far away from it, or be inside an extremely strong structure a modest distance from the point of detonation.

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15y ago

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