What If a Nuke Hit New York City Tomorrow?
What If a Nuke Hit New York City Tomorrow?
A nuke is the most powerful weapon in the world. A single nuclear weapon, or nuke, can cause unimaginable destruction. So, what if a nuke hit New York City tomorrow? What would be the consequences to the United States and the world as a whole?
Sources:
https://pastebin.com/raw/seiQFcEJ
Founder: Peter Schumaker
Chief Editor:
Tristan Reed
Original soundtrack by Joseph McDade
Content
0 -> The clock strikes twelve in Manhattan, one of
the most densely populated areas in New York
5.52 -> City and the entire United States. Millions of
people live, work, and travel in this bustling
12 -> borough every day, filled to the brim with
commuters from Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx.
18 -> Each year, tens of millions of tourists also visit
Manhattan to see the colorful billboards of Times
23.82 -> Square and the elegant greenery of Central Park.
Nicknamed “the Center of the Universe,” Manhattan
30.36 -> is home to thousands of landmarks of American
culture, architecture, and entertainment,
35.46 -> but one weapon of mass destruction could rapidly
reduce this modern metropolis to ash and rubble.
43.2 -> One minute past noon, an unmarked
bomber flies over Manhattan carrying
48.3 -> multiple thermonuclear weapons,
also known as hydrogen bombs.
53.1 -> These weapons of mass destruction
can generate explosions thousands
56.94 -> of times more powerful than the atomic bombs
dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
63.9 -> The largest thermonuclear weapon ever
constructed was the Soviet RDS-220,
69.48 -> nicknamed ‘Tsar Bomba’ or the King of Bombs.
During the Cold War, Tsar Bomba was designed
76.92 -> by the Soviet Union as a demonstration of its
military power. Tsar Bomba’s one and only test
83.1 -> produced an approximate yield of 50 megatons
or 50 million tons of TNT, making it the most
90.36 -> powerful man-made explosive in history. Not all
thermonuclear weapons yield as much power as
96.78 -> Tsar Bomba, but even lesser bombs, like the United
States B-41, can bring unimaginable destruction.
104.46 -> The tremendous energy generated by any
thermonuclear weapon comes from a combination
109.62 -> of two chemical processes: nuclear fission and
nuclear fusion. Atomic bombs, like those dropped
116.46 -> on Japan, rely exclusively on nuclear fission,
splitting large atoms into smaller nuclei to
122.82 -> create energy. Thermonuclear weapons still use
fission to generate heat and explosive power, but
129.3 -> they also employ nuclear fusion, combining smaller
hydrogen atoms under extremely high temperatures.
136.2 -> Hydrogen isotopes, like tritium or deuterium,
typically repulse one another when they are
141.66 -> ionized and given a positive charge; but with
enough kinetic energy, they can overcome their
147.24 -> repulsion and fuse into a larger atom of
helium. In doing so, they shed a small
153.36 -> percentage of their mass, which is converted into
energy. According to Einstein’s famous equation,
159.54 -> energy equals mass multiplied by the speed of
light squared. Thus, these tiny chemical reactions
166.56 -> produce enough energy for a catastrophic blast.
At the moment of detonation, a primary fission
174 -> reaction causes temperatures inside the bomb
to skyrocket to over 100 million degrees.
180.42 -> Heat rushes through the detonation system and
sparks a fusion reaction in the bomb’s gaseous
185.52 -> fuel, which contains isotopes of hydrogen. The
fusion fuel, in turn, triggers fission within
192.6 -> a so-called “spark plug” made from uranium
or plutonium. This chemical chain reaction
198.6 -> allows some hydrogen bombs to generate as much
explosive power as several million tonnes of TNT.
206.28 -> This particular weapon — dropped from a mysterious
bomber onto New York City — detonates about a mile
212.52 -> above the ground to maximize its damage and
destruction. A fraction of a second later,
217.62 -> onlookers of the explosion are blinded by a
white flash of light, briefly shining brighter
223.56 -> than the sun. A massive fireball erupts outward
and vaporizes almost everything it touches. New
231 -> York City’s high rises and taxi cabs turn
to dust as the temperature of the fireball
235.8 -> climbs to tens of millions of degrees.
The fireball releases a ring of thermal
241.56 -> energy from its core that scorches all
living things and causes extreme damage
246.78 -> to all but the most hardened structures.
Famous skyscrapers like the Empire State
252 -> Building collapse in blazing piles of rubble.
The vegetation in Central Park is reduced to ash,
258.18 -> and all combustible materials melt or burst into
flames. Nearly 100% of people inside this thermal
266.04 -> ring suffer fatal third-degree burns, destroying
their nerves, hair, and multiple layers of skin.
273.48 -> As the fireball rapidly expands, it pushes
back the surrounding air, and a shock wave,
279.48 -> or air blast, radiates from the center of the
explosion at supersonic speeds. This shock wave
285.66 -> generates winds over 600 kilometers per hour that
tear the roofs off buildings and launch cars,
292.02 -> road signs, and chunks of metal like cannonballs
through the streets of New York City. Gas
298.38 -> tanks and power lines explode as buildings and
bridges, weakened by extreme heat and pressure,
304.74 -> crumble like towers of sand. Within seconds
of the blast, most of Midtown Manhattan and
311.46 -> its hundreds of cultural landmarks are
smashed, melted, and reduced to rubble.
316.74 -> Around ground zero, a fierce updraft sweeps
hot, vaporized debris into the atmosphere,
322.92 -> forming a mushroom-shaped cloud taller than any
structure on Earth. Vaporized debris bonds with
329.52 -> radioactive particles inside the cloud, creating
radioactive dust or “fallout.” After about ten
336.36 -> minutes, the red-hot vapor cools and condenses,
and the mushroom cloud reaches its maximum height.
343.32 -> Soon, fallout rains down onto the Earth,
contaminating almost everything it touches,
348.6 -> including water supplies like the Hudson River.
352.14 -> Countless homes and streets are coated in
fallout, exposing hundreds of thousands
357.24 -> of New Yorkers to sickening or possibly lethal
doses of radiation, but the people of New York
362.94 -> City aren’t the only ones at risk. Moderate
to high winds can spread radioactive fallout
368.94 -> across hundreds of square kilometers. If the
wind is blowing Northeast from the blast site,
373.92 -> areas as far as New Hampshire could be
exposed to dangerous radioactive particles.
379.56 -> Already, this catastrophic event has ended
hundreds of thousands of lives. Those caught
385.26 -> in the initial explosion leave no remains
except shadows cast on nearby surfaces,
390.66 -> but over the next few hours, the fatality rate
will climb even higher. Inside the blast zone,
396.66 -> survivors of the initial explosion succumb to
horrific injuries like third-degree burns and
401.94 -> shattered bones. Others are crushed or suffocated
under piles of rubble and radioactive debris. Many
409.02 -> more people are injured or killed in the
raging wildfires spreading rapidly through
413.58 -> New York City’s densely populated boroughs.
By nightfall, hospitals and emergency rooms are
420.36 -> overwhelmed by thousands of patients with severe
burns, temporary blindness, and other traumatic
426.24 -> injuries. Emergency responders rush into the
city to save as many people as possible, but the
432 -> streets of Manhattan are clogged with dangerous
debris and still hot enough to melt through skin
437.52 -> and rubber. Rescue teams do everything they can to
help survivors on the outskirts of the blast zone,
443.76 -> though it may be days before they reach anyone
near ground zero. Without medical treatment,
449.04 -> more people succumb to their injuries,
and the death toll continues to rise.
454.68 -> Meanwhile, radioactive fallout spreads across
the Northeastern United States, causing another
460.32 -> wave of hospitalizations. Thousands are already
suffering from Acute Radiation Syndrome, or ARS,
467.58 -> which can cause seizures, hair loss, and even
cancer, depending on the type and length of
473.04 -> exposure. Some people directly exposed
to radioactive fallout may not develop
478.08 -> symptoms until days or months after the initial
explosion. Even at greater distances from ground
484.38 -> zero, many people are indirectly exposed to
radiation through contaminated food or water.
490.32 -> Livestock may unknowingly consume radioactive
plants or drink from toxic water supplies.
496.14 -> Products made from these contaminated animals,
like milk or cheese, may be distributed
501.78 -> across the United States or worldwide, exposing
countless people to dangerous internal radiation.
508.92 -> Within months of the initial explosion, some
areas of New York City far from the blast zone,
514.62 -> like Staten Island or eastern Queens,
may gradually recover. As radiation
519.9 -> dissipates and debris is cleared, residents
of these areas may return to their homes,
524.82 -> but it could be years before most of the city
is clean or safe enough for human habitation.
531.36 -> Public health and safety aren’t the only things
in jeopardy after this catastrophic event. The New
537.12 -> York Metropolitan Area is one of the world’s
largest financial centers, boasting a GDP of
542.76 -> nearly 1.6 trillion dollars. If a thermonuclear
bomb detonated over New York City, the explosion
549.42 -> may trigger a worldwide socioeconomic crisis.
Having lost valuable employees and specialized
555.66 -> personnel, many prominent businesses would
declare bankruptcy. The cost of recovery,
560.94 -> including decontamination and reconstruction,
would also place a substantial burden on the
566.64 -> federal government. Though Wall Street may
effectively survive, thanks to data backed
571.8 -> up in other locations, the destruction of New York
City would significantly influence the market and
577.26 -> propel the U.S. economy into severe distress.
The United States does have defense programs,
583.62 -> like the Ground-based Midcourse Defense, or GMD,
to protect American cities from certain nuclear
590.1 -> attacks. However, the United States relies heavily
on a policy of deterrence to preserve peace among
596.28 -> nations armed with nuclear weapons. There are
about 12,500 nuclear warheads in the world today,
602.52 -> and about 5,200 of them belong to the United
States. The U.S. government has long pledged
609.12 -> to deploy nuclear weapons only under extreme
circumstances. Should a nuclear weapon explode in
615.54 -> the epicenter of New York City, killing millions
of Americans and devastating national landmarks,
621 -> the United States may be motivated to
unleash the power of its nuclear arsenal.
626.94 -> Federal agents could use samples of debris
and other clues to trace the original
631.38 -> weapon’s origins. Only nine countries in
the world have active nuclear weapons,
636.54 -> so the U.S. may quickly uncover the source
of the weapon and declare war on whichever
641.4 -> country it came from. A large-scale nuclear
war may endanger hundreds of millions,
647.04 -> or even billions of people and potentially
release enough debris into the atmosphere to
652.8 -> block out the sun. Though it’s unlikely
to happen, if a nuclear weapon hits New
657.6 -> York City tomorrow, the impact would be
globally catastrophic for decades to come.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K871Mqa0Kfo