How far does a shockwave travel?

Within a 6-km (3.7-mile) radius of a 1-megaton bomb, blast waves will produce 180 tonnes of force on the walls of all two-storey buildings, and wind speeds of 255 km/h (158 mph). In a 1-km (0.6-mile) radius, the peak pressure is four times that amount, and wind speeds can reach 756 km/h (470 mph).

Has a bomb ever exploded on a plane?

A Boeing 247 was destroyed by a bomb, with nitroglycerin as the probable explosive agent. Joseph-Albert Guay sent a bomb made of dynamite as air cargo on a flight his wife was also on. The explosion occurred after takeoff, leading to the death of all 19 passengers and 4 crew on the Douglas DC-3.

Can you drop a nuke from a plane?

Gravity bomb Gravity bombs are designed to be dropped from planes, which requires that the weapon be able to withstand vibrations and changes in air temperature and pressure during the course of a flight. The “B61”, for example, was the primary bomb in the US arsenal for decades.

How far away could you see a nuclear explosion?

The mushroom cloud from a commonly deployed nuclear weapon – between 100 and 500 kilotons – would top out between 14 and 19 kilometers, which could be observed from 420 to 490 kilometers away, respectively. For megaton-sized weapons, the cloud tops might be observable up to if not beyond 700 kilometers away.

Can you see shock waves?

Like sound waves, shock waves are as transparent as the air through which they travel. Usually they can only be seen clearly by special instruments under controlled conditions in the laboratory.

Has a nuke been stolen?

Since 1950, there have been 32 nuclear weapon accidents, known as “Broken Arrows.” A Broken Arrow is defined as an unexpected event involving nuclear weapons that result in the accidental launching, firing, detonating, theft or loss of the weapon. To date, six nuclear weapons have been lost and never recovered.

How far away from an atomic explosion did the bomb drop?

In the case of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Manhattan Project scientists calculated that the B-29 dropping the bombs had to be more than 8 miles from the explosion to survive the shock wave.

Can an atomic bomb travel as far as it can?

Yes, it can. That’s why from the plane dropping an atomic bomb has to put as much distance between it and the explosion as possible. In the case of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Manhattan Project scientists calculated that the B-29 dropping the bombs had to be more than 8 miles from the explosion to survive the shock wave.

Can a high-explosive bomb damage an airplane?

The shock wave from ANY high-explosive bomb can damage or cause to crash ANY airplane. In WW2, aircraft using skip-bombing against shipping were occasionally hoist on their own petards, and during the Vietnam War, U.S. fighter-bombers received damage from their own low-level bombing.

What happens if a body is hit with an atomic bomb?

A bomb sets nearby bodies in motion with a speed depending on the strength of the explosion, the distance to the body, and how much surface area of the body was facing the bomb. While – as explained in the other answers – being set in motion is rarely lethal, being smashed against a wall can easily lead to lethal internal bleeding.