What happens to the fallout if a nuclear missle is intercepted?

[Saint Nick]

Say a nuclear missile is intercepted between Asia and Hawaii. What happens to the fallout? Does it go into the atmosphere or does it stick around down here and fly around in the jet stream?

 

[IronWing]

An intercepted warhead is unlikely to denonate as a nuclear explosion. An interception might ignite the warhead in a conventional explosion/fire spreading plutonium and uranium ash. It will likely rain down on the southern hemisphere where no one important lives anyway.


How long and how far ash might spread depends on particle size and is very difficult to estimate. Finer ash = longer time in the atmosphere and farther travel distance.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Lay off the news.

Whatever happens happens, it's out of your control/don't worry about it.

Don't let our fucked up media possess you with fear....

PS. also chances of a missle interseptions are VERY slim. US has tried for years and many test were failures (but they do a great job to assure public they can shut down anything in the sky). Think about it, they are telling you they can shut down a bullet that's going hundreds/if not thousands of miles an hour from the sky (with another bullet). Chances are slim (but I'm sure it's possible).

Most missile defense systems are just another way to extract money from public > corporations.

 

[Agent11]

They don't explode when shot down, so there wouldn't be 'fallout' in that sense. There would be radioactive debris but not so bad I would be overly concerned about it.

 

[JulesMaximus]

We've detonated over a hundred of these devices in the south Pacific in the 1940s and 50s.

 

[dougp]

Lay off the news.

Whatever happens happens, it's out of your control/don't worry about it.

Don't let our fucked up media possess you with fear....

PS. also chances of a missle interseptions are VERY slim. US has tried for years and many test were failures (but they do a great job to assure public they can shut down anything in the sky). Think about it, they are telling you they can shut down a bullet that's going hundreds/if not thousands of miles an hour from the sky (with another bullet). Chances are slim (but I'm sure it's possible).

Most missile defense systems are just another way to extract money from public > corporations.

Patriots are fairly accurate, but there's a reason why the US was looking at using nuclear anti-missile systems - it's easier to blanket an area with the suspected path as opposed to trying to hit it head on.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Patriots are fairly accurate, but there's a reason why the US was looking at using nuclear anti-missile systems - it's easier to blanket an area with the suspected path as opposed to trying to hit it head on.

Correct, but suspected path = whole bunch of assumptions.

US is and never was prepared for ANY missile attack. Don't fool yourself. Do we have things that MIGHT help, sure. But they cost our children/grand children BILLIONS and are still "maybe"/chances are low.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I think it just vanishes, and the other person on the other end just gets a message that says DENIED. At least that's what happens in UT3 with the redeemer. :biggrin:

 

[sdifox]

Say a nuclear missile is intercepted between Asia and Hawaii. What happens to the fallout? Does it go into the atmosphere or does it stick around down here and fly around in the jet stream?

No fallout, you just need to recover the radio isotope fragments. And clean up what ever environental contamination.

 

[Brovane]

Lay off the news.

Whatever happens happens, it's out of your control/don't worry about it.

Don't let our fucked up media possess you with fear....

PS. also chances of a missle interseptions are VERY slim. US has tried for years and many test were failures (but they do a great job to assure public they can shut down anything in the sky). Think about it, they are telling you they can shut down a bullet that's going hundreds/if not thousands of miles an hour from the sky (with another bullet). Chances are slim (but I'm sure it's possible).

Most missile defense systems are just another way to extract money from public > corporations.

It isn't difficult with computers to predict the path of the object across the sky and then just place another object in the same path.

 

[Brovane]

Say a nuclear missile is intercepted between Asia and Hawaii. What happens to the fallout? Does it go into the atmosphere or does it stick around down here and fly around in the jet stream?

The nuclear warhead doesn't initiate so you just have some possible radioactive debris that could make it's way back down to the ground. A lot better than having the warhead initiate a detonation over a US city.

 

[Saint Nick]

Cool, thanks everyone.

 

[BladeVenom]

We've detonated over a hundred of these devices in the south Pacific in the 1940s and 50s.

This has been posted before, but it's a great video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9lquok4Pdk

 

[Vdubchaos]

It isn't difficult with computers to predict the path of the object across the sky and then just place another object in the same path.

Translation: it's not difficult to shot a bullet out of the sky

It's VERY difficult. Matter a fact it's so difficult that such technology has never really been very successful.

BUT plenty of money has been pulled from American public during Cold War and NOW for such "failed projects".

American's don't seem to mind. It gives us that sense of security. Our politicians and corporations know VERY well that there is a HUGE market for that.

 

[Rakehellion]

It isn't difficult with computers to predict the path of the object across the sky and then just place another object in the same path.

Yes, the object follows a fairly predictable trajectory and takes several minutes to land, but it's very tiny, very turbulent, and to effectively disable it you have to hit it from the side.

Not to mention they could launch dozens of these things at once.

 

[Anonemous]

hehe iMac

 

[Eureka]

http://i.imgur.com/C0wfJlj.jpg[img]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/4LXUqmH.jpg[img]

hehe iMac
[img]http://i.imgur.com/1E5AXVQ.jpg[img][/QUOTE]

Congrats, I saw that on Reddit too. :D

I wouldn't entrust millions of lives to the Patriot system. It's OK as a last-resort defense system after all else fails, but the best safeguard is to prevent them from launching missiles in the first place. Plus it can only intercept at lower altitudes, not the higher altitudes that a good ICBM flies at (hundreds or thousands of miles above sea level).

 

[Rakehellion]

I wonder if Obama will defy every peace treaty like Bush and nuke North Korea if it comes down to it. We all know black presidents have bigger wangs than white presidents. Except Clinton.

 

[Anonemous]

Congrats, I saw that on Reddit too.

I wouldn't entrust millions of lives to the Patriot system. It's OK as a last-resort defense system after all else fails, but the best safeguard is to prevent them from launching missiles in the first place. Plus it can only intercept at lower altitudes, not the higher altitudes that a good ICBM flies at (hundreds or thousands of miles above sea level).

Yep, just wanted people to know NK has a strike plan for both West and East Coast. Whether or not they can carry out this plan is another story...

 

[Eureka]

Yep, just wanted people to know NK has a strike plan for both West and East Coast. Whether or not they can carry out this plan is another story...

You didn't read the thread, did you? That's not a strike plan. That's propaganda. It's like looking on a map and saying, I'm going to hit New York.

A strike plan would actually have missile trajectories and force movements. Those aren't trajectories. They're straight lines on a map. Which, BTW, is not how flying vehicles work.

 

[Vdubchaos]

I wonder if Obama will defy every peace treaty like Bush and nuke North Korea if it comes down to it. We all know black presidents have bigger wangs than white presidents. Except Clinton.

I'm pretty sure he won't get into "dick waving " match with an Asian man.

:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

I just don't see that happening hehe

 

[Fritzo]

Lay off the news.

Whatever happens happens, it's out of your control/don't worry about it.

Don't let our fucked up media possess you with fear....

PS. also chances of a missle interseptions are VERY slim. US has tried for years and many test were failures (but they do a great job to assure public they can shut down anything in the sky). Think about it, they are telling you they can shut down a bullet that's going hundreds/if not thousands of miles an hour from the sky (with another bullet). Chances are slim (but I'm sure it's possible).

Most missile defense systems are just another way to extract money from public > corporations.

Best Korea doesn't have a missile that can reach the US. Japan and S. Korea should be the ones getting nervous.

 

[Fritzo]

"Yep...says right here that this medal means I'm in charge of strike plans."

 

[moonbogg]

The missile doesn't get destroyed completely, it gets broken or disturbed in it's flight path and will probably just crash or fall in the ocean and leak radiation, killing all of the fish for hundreds of miles around. Not a big deal.

 

[Aikouka]

PS. also chances of a missle interseptions are VERY slim. US has tried for years and many test were failures (but they do a great job to assure public they can shut down anything in the sky). Think about it, they are telling you they can shut down a bullet that's going hundreds/if not thousands of miles an hour from the sky (with another bullet). Chances are slim (but I'm sure it's possible).

Most missile defense systems are just another way to extract money from public > corporations.

So, shall I assume that you have a lot of experience in missile defense or that you're just talking out of your derriere?

EDIT:

An intercepted warhead is unlikely to denonate as a nuclear explosion.

Pretty much. I don't think most people understand how even the most basic of nuclear weapons function, and they'll actually believe malarkey like this. It isn't hard to explain that you actually have to start a nuclear chain reaction.