My father saw Nagasaki in 1945 post-conflict. He saw the shadows, which were real. The direct radiation bleached the surrounding surface, but the shadow of the person standing in the way was not bleached (though the person was vaporized). Nothing to do with microwaves. The radiation is from X-rays and plasma incandescence from their absorption. The neutron bomb was a different creature that came along much later, thanks to Sam Cohen.
There are no orbiting nuclear devices (specifically forbidden by Outer Space Treaty). They would make about as much sense as nuclear mines adrift in the sea. You wouldn't want to do it even if you could do it. Best thing for starting fires is someone with a match and kindling.
Oh, yeah. Exploding energy will most definitely move in straight lines, unless there are constraints. Microwaves can be reflected by surroundings. Atomic bombs produce an initial burst of X-rays that are maybe measured in microseconds, then they are absorbed by the atmosphere into an incandescent plasma, which also radiates. So, yeah, the energy from an atom bomb is essentially instantaneous. They don't call it a flash for nothing. The direct radiation does NOT linger. The heat is mostly resident in the mushroom cloud and that convects away from the ground. (read "The Effects of Nuclear Weapons" by Glasstone and Dolan) The shadows were nothing left to burn; they were just contrast against the exposed surfaces that had been bleached by the initial radiation. (Unless you were talking about the grease spots, which would have been reduced to char anyway).
My father saw Nagasaki in 1945 post-conflict. He saw the shadows, which were real. The direct radiation bleached the surrounding surface, but the shadow of the person standing in the way was not bleached (though the person was vaporized). Nothing to do with microwaves. The radiation is from X-rays and plasma incandescence from their absorption. The neutron bomb was a different creature that came along much later, thanks to Sam Cohen.
There are no orbiting nuclear devices (specifically forbidden by Outer Space Treaty). They would make about as much sense as nuclear mines adrift in the sea. You wouldn't want to do it even if you could do it. Best thing for starting fires is someone with a match and kindling.
Oh, yeah. Exploding energy will most definitely move in straight lines, unless there are constraints. Microwaves can be reflected by surroundings. Atomic bombs produce an initial burst of X-rays that are maybe measured in microseconds, then they are absorbed by the atmosphere into an incandescent plasma, which also radiates. So, yeah, the energy from an atom bomb is essentially instantaneous. They don't call it a flash for nothing. The direct radiation does NOT linger. The heat is mostly resident in the mushroom cloud and that convects away from the ground. (read "The Effects of Nuclear Weapons" by Glasstone and Dolan) The shadows were nothing left to burn; they were just contrast against the exposed surfaces that had been bleached by the initial radiation. (Unless you were talking about the grease spots, which would have been reduced to char anyway).
Biolabs are also forbidden, right?