I had that dream again

#nuclear #technology #apocalypse #dreams

I wake up in a cold sweat with my heart pounding, a scream half formed on my lips as my lungs struggle to find air. It's that dream again - the one where everything ends. Where we destroy ourselves in a ball of cataclysmic fire.

I've been afraid of nuclear war for as long as I can remember. There's something uniquely terrifying about the knowledge that this earth now has a built-in self destruct button.

0 milliseconds
A timer reaches zero and small electrical signal is sent down a wire, beginning a now unstoppable series of events.

1 millisecond
This signal causes a small blasting cap to detonate, resulting in a shockwave which ripples through a strategically placed composite of TNT and other plastic explosives, detonating the first bomb.

1-5 milliseconds
The blast from the plastic explosives cascades inwards towards the plutonium fission material contained within the sphere, compressing it from all sides and turning it into a supercritical mass.

5-10 milliseconds
Inside this supercritical mass atoms begin to split apart under the pressure, releasing neutrons which fly out and crash into the other densely packed atoms contained in the fission material. This begins the exponentially increasing chain reaction of nuclear collisions, releasing the massive amounts of energy contained within the second bomb in the form of heat and radioactive material.

10-50 milliseconds
The energy from the nuclear fission explosion heats and compresses the nearby mixture of Deuterium and Tritium, creating pressure and temperatures normally only found within the sun. The conditions are now right for a fusion reaction to occur as the third bomb detonates.

50-100 milliseconds
The fusion reaction begins. The Deuterium and Tritium atoms are fused together under the pressure and combine to form Helium, creating a superheated fireball while releasing the extra neutrons as radiation.

101 milliseconds
The fusion chain reaction now reaches its peak and temperatures exceed 15 million degrees Celsius, briefly surpassing the sun as the hottest object in the solar system.

102-103 milliseconds
With most of the nuclear fuel now consumed, the inwards pressure of the fission explosion is overtaken by the outwards pressure of the fusion explosion and the fireball begins to expand, quickly reaching several meters in diameter.

104-105 milliseconds
The fireball expands to 20 meters in diameter, cooling rapidly to a mere 500,000 degrees Celsius. Humans within several kilometers who are looking in the direction of the blast are rendered blind from the light produced by the explosion.

110 milliseconds
The fireball is now 200m in diameter, incinerating any objects or people contained within. It is being closely followed by a high pressure shockwave emanating outwards. Severe burns on exposed skin are already being caused up to 1 kilometer away.

130 milliseconds
The fireball is now 400m wide. The shockwave expands further and reaches its peak pressure 500m away, completely flattening most buildings within the area.

150 milliseconds
The fireball continues expanding to a 700m diameter, with the shockwave traveling a full kilometer. The shockwave is still powerful enough to cause widespread destruction and death.

200 milliseconds
The fireball has stopped growing. The shockwave has travelled 2km, and while less powerful than before, still causes immense damage.

300 milliseconds - 1 second
The fireball starts to cool and rise into the atmosphere, forming the distinctive nuclear mushroom cloud. It is still hot enough to cause burns several kilometres away. The shockwave continues to ripple outwards, slowly dissipating in power as it goes. High energy radioactive particles are continuing to spread into the environment for multiple kilometres in all directions, ripping electrons off their atoms, causing irreparable damage to biological beings.

1 - 5 Seconds
The mushroom cloud continues to rise and expand. The blast wave continues to lose intensity as it spreads out.
The initial radiation burst has now passed, but the fallout is beginning to spread over a large area.

1 minute
The initial explosion has now passed, but a large number of fires have started all over the city due to the heat from the fireball. The mushroom cloud rises higher, carrying with it radioactive debris from the bomb and the surrounding area.

2 minutes
The fallout begins to settle on the ground, contaminating the area with hazardous radioactive material. The mushroom cloud continues to disperse across the sky, further spreading the fallout over a large area.

1 Hour
The radioactive fallout contained in the mushroom cloud continues to settle on the ground, making the affected area dangerous for any humans not wearing protective gear.

1 week
The immediate effects of the blast have passed, but the area remains contaminated with dangerous radioactive material.
Humans within several kilometres of the blast who were exposed to the initial burst of radiation begin to die as their bodies deteriorate and are unable to cope with the massive amount of cellular damage. Their skin turns black and begins to split open like a rotten fruit until they eventually succumb to catastrophic organ failure and blood loss. Loved ones are not allowed to visit or say goodbye, as their very bodies have become radioactive and are dangerous for other humans to be near They are unable to be given painkillers despite being in intense agony, as their veins crack and split open if any attempt is made to insert a needle.
Cleanup and decontamination efforts begin, but the area will likely be uninhabitable for decades.

1 year and beyond
The death toll rises in the further years, as cancer rates skyrocket in the nearby areas as a result of exposure to radiation. Many who survive are unable to reproduce and have children, and many children who are born contain birth defects and die in their infancy.

Fusion nuclear weapons are between hundreds to thousands of times more powerful than the fission bombs used by the United States against the Empire of Japan during the final days of World War Two. The use of a but one fusion nuclear weapon on a civilian population would result in millions of deaths and be the singular worst humanitarian crisis in the history of humanity. Today, there are around 2000 of these weapons ready to be fired at a moments warning. There would only be between 5 to 30 minutes warning between launch and impact.

The Greeks believed that Zeus's lightning bolt was the most destructive power on the planet. This now pales in comparison to a hydrogen bomb. We have used technology to give ourselves powers that surpass those of our ancient gods. Yet we have not given ourselves the wisdom and compassion of gods needed to wield this power well, or the power needed to clean up our mess.

I can only hope that we are able to see clearly the fragility of our existence on this planet, and survive our own creative stupidity by never using one of these weapons.