Looking at pictures of Hiroshima, all of the streets seem fairly clear of debris. I found it odd that it looked like most of the buildings collapsed in on themselves, rather than being blow to bits and scattered. Maybe I'm crazy.
Japanese construction did not involve much masonry. It was mostly wood, which was why the firebombing campaign was selected. The bombs achieved extremely high temperatures, emitted intense thermal radiation, and combustible structure was burned FAST. The shock wave from the detonation would have crushed anything standing. The smoke and char was drawn into the mushroom cloud by updraft. In Nagasaki, building skeletons remained. Read "The Effects of Nuclear Weapons."
They are exactly as destructive as they are (read "The Effects of Nuclear Weapons"). I can't help the fact that many have been fooled into thinking they are the end of the world. But you are not coping with the fact that they release an immense amount of energy. The radius for a given overpressure can easily be calculated, and most civilian structures collapse at 2 psi. For large weapons, that can be kilometers.
What exactly is your point? If you are trying to say that nuclear weapons are a trifle, you are looking up the wrong hole.
Looking at pictures of Hiroshima, all of the streets seem fairly clear of debris. I found it odd that it looked like most of the buildings collapsed in on themselves, rather than being blow to bits and scattered. Maybe I'm crazy.
Japanese construction did not involve much masonry. It was mostly wood, which was why the firebombing campaign was selected. The bombs achieved extremely high temperatures, emitted intense thermal radiation, and combustible structure was burned FAST. The shock wave from the detonation would have crushed anything standing. The smoke and char was drawn into the mushroom cloud by updraft. In Nagasaki, building skeletons remained. Read "The Effects of Nuclear Weapons."
Nuclear weapons are nowhere near as destructive over distance as we've been fear-porned into believing.
If they were, the entirety of Japan's population would have been incinerated by the two bombs we delivered.
Like sound intensity measured in dB, the destructive force of explosions diminishes as the SQUARE of the distance removed from the detonation site.
They are exactly as destructive as they are (read "The Effects of Nuclear Weapons"). I can't help the fact that many have been fooled into thinking they are the end of the world. But you are not coping with the fact that they release an immense amount of energy. The radius for a given overpressure can easily be calculated, and most civilian structures collapse at 2 psi. For large weapons, that can be kilometers.
What exactly is your point? If you are trying to say that nuclear weapons are a trifle, you are looking up the wrong hole.