All Questions
Tagged with nuclear nuclear-weapons
16
questions
10
votes
10
answers
3k
views
Everything has a tiny nuclear reactor in it. How much of a concern are illegal nuclear bombs?
In this world, basically every structure (building, factory, car, etc...) has a tiny nuclear reactor in it, and operates like a nuclear submarine. There isn't even an electrical grid; every structure ...
- 13k
3
votes
6
answers
1k
views
How would an alien race destroy all nuclear weapons on earth? [closed]
An alien race has decided that earth is the best place to recruit new soldiers and prepare for a war, and they want to eliminate all nuclear weapons (explosive ones, not dirty bombs) to prevent ...
- 40.8k
10
votes
3
answers
476
views
How close can I get to a nuclear explosion with extreme shielding?
Imagine you are in empty space, and a 15 megaton nuclear bomb is very close to you (D=200 meters), but what's also very close to you is a giant (Tungsten?) cylinder (2? meters in diameter, 100? meters ...
18
votes
1
answer
4k
views
How early could we have had nukes?
Suppose a message was sent to the past with a diagram, description, and use, of the simplest fission weapon.
It didn't describe how to mine Uranium, enrich it, or even a description of WHY it works or ...
5
votes
2
answers
146
views
Is there a metric for how far underground a nuclear bomb needs to be to safely be tested?
I'm running a one-shot cold war campaign where the PCs are going to sabotage a prototype Soviet giga-ton bomb. Realistically, how far underground would a giga-ton bomb have to be buried to be safely ...
- 1,973
3
votes
2
answers
193
views
How weight and volume-efficient can you make a high-yield nuclear weapon for setting off a volcano?
Let's say that we need a nuke that can fit into a very small space while also providing a very large boom.
Now, the US's B-41 nuclear bomb was quite mass-efficient indeed; it put out 22 petajoules, or ...
- 13.1k
3
votes
10
answers
416
views
Why do the nations in my world use tactical nuclear weapons but not strategic ones while still having both?
Exactly what it says on the tin: why do the nuclear bomb-having nations in my world use tactical nuclear weapons but not strategic ones while still having both?
They're not launching ICBMs at one ...
- 13.1k
1
vote
2
answers
229
views
What would the global effects of a prolonged nuclear war at sea be?
There are a great many studies targeted at the effects on the environment of nuclear war on land, but I can't seem to find any relating specifically to nuclear war at sea.
The current basic setup in ...
- 1,116
2
votes
2
answers
288
views
Effects of a Rapid Fire Nuclear Weapon on the Environment
One of the weapons I'm planning on having a character use in a sci-fi world is a rapid fire nuclear autocannon. While the strategic use of nuclear weapons is common on inter-galactic battlefields, an ...
- 1,116
8
votes
6
answers
2k
views
I'm looking for an event that would have accelerated the American nuclear program
I've been brainstorming this idea of America conquering the world right after World War II, during the period when USA was the only nation with the atomic bomb.
I'm looking for something either ...
- 89
4
votes
1
answer
98
views
What signs of nuclear explosion in SLC can be seen from Lincoln Highway?
First thing: I don't know if it's the right stack to ask this question, so I'm sorry if it's not.
I'm writing an adventure for an apocalyptic RPG session. One point of the plot is a detonation of 100 ...
1
vote
3
answers
968
views
What would be the best way to power a mecha? [closed]
While searching around, I kept hearing that fusion was a good choice, but how best to covert the energy to electricity was an issue.
However, during my research, I came across this:
Photon-...
- 415
2
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Solar Flare disabling Nuclear Weapon defenses?
I have a nuclear post-apocalypse that isn't 100% depressing. It's only 95% so. /s
I was contemplating an origin story of a solar flare doing some rather nasty things to circuitry related to nuclear ...
- 507
4
votes
8
answers
979
views
Losing Knowledge
Is it plausible to create a world in which the people who live inside it developed technologies like the ones we had in WW2, but after their progress came to a halt they forgot their knowledge. ...
- 347
3
votes
1
answer
465
views
Neutron bomb vs Nuclear Thermal Rocket (NTR)
A spaceship like this is traveling in the space:
Let's say, that its 100 meters long. Its crew module have 5 cm of lead shielding, the 80 m long propellant tank is full of liquid hydrogen, and at the ...
- 6,409