Loudness of a nuclear detonation...

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Posted by Timothy J. Trace on December 12, 2000 at 08:05:29:

In Reply to: Re: Why is 194dB the loudest.... posted by gus on December 11, 2000 at 20:21:24:

(How loud is yer average nuke blast?

Can't find specifics, not even from the Nevada Test site, which is the US largest nuclear test facility.

But we know that Little Boy (Hiroshima), a 15kt (+/- 20%) airburst at 1900ft (+/- 50ft), imparted an overpressure shockwave to "ground zero" as high as 12psi.

(Anything over 5psi knocks down reinforced concrete walls, so air bursting at 2700ft would've provided a larger blast effects radius. Thank God they didn't do that - as it was, 70k people were taken by the fireball and blast wave, and 60k buildings out of 90k were destroyed.)

Even miles from the damage radius, sound pressure levels from a nuclear explosion probably defy description.

Think about the resonances in your ear when you walk outside during a windstorm. Imagine getting hit by even as little as a 1psi overpressure wave moving at a hundred miles an hour in comparison, such as what you might experience in an observation shelter at a nuclear test site, 10 miles or more from ground zero.

Gotta get a feel for it? Stick your head in the horn of a Basstech-7 or a KF940 running balls-to-the-wall. {grin}

More than you ever wanted to know:
High Energy Weapons Archive. The Nuclear Weapons FAQ is particularly frightening.

Not nuclear in nature, but I found these other interesting factoids:

The maximum level of sound tolerable for dolphins and whales is 220 and 180 decibels respectively.

According to the Navy's own study, scientists briefly exposed a 32-year-old Navy diver to Low-Frequency-Active sonar at a level of 160 decibels -- a fraction of the intensity at which the LFA system is designed to operate, 220 decibels. After 12 minutes, the diver experienced severe symptoms, including dizziness and drowsiness. After being hospitalized, he relapsed, suffering memory dysfunction and seizure. Two years later he was being treated with anti-depressant and anti-seizure medications.

Regards,

Tim ==

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: <em>(How loud is yer average nuke blast?</em>

: Can't find specifics, not even from the Nevada Test site, which is the US largest nuclear test facility.

: But we know that Little Boy (Hiroshima), a 15kt (+/- 20%) airburst at 1900ft (+/- 50ft), imparted an overpressure shockwave to "ground zero" as high as 12psi.

: (Anything over 5psi knocks down reinforced concrete walls, so air bursting at 2700ft would've provided a larger blast effects radius. Thank God they didn't do that - as it was, 70k people were taken by the fireball and blast wave, and 60k buildings out of 90k were destroyed.)

: Even miles from the damage radius, sound pressure levels from a nuclear explosion probably defy description.

: Think about the resonances in your ear when you walk outside during a windstorm. Imagine getting hit by even as little as a 1psi overpressure wave moving at a hundred miles an hour in comparison, such as what you might experience in an observation shelter at a nuclear test site, 10 miles or more from ground zero.

: Gotta get a feel for it? Stick your head in the horn of a Basstech-7 or a KF940 running balls-to-the-wall. {grin}

: More than you ever wanted to know:
: <a href="http://www.enviroweb.org/issues/nuketesting/hew/">High Energy Weapons Archive</a>. The Nuclear Weapons FAQ is particularly frightening.

: <hr>
: Not nuclear in nature, but I found these other interesting factoids:

: <li>The maximum level of sound tolerable for dolphins and whales is 220 and 180 decibels respectively.

: <li>According to the Navy's own study, scientists briefly exposed a 32-year-old Navy diver to Low-Frequency-Active sonar at a level of 160 decibels -- a fraction of the intensity at which the LFA system is designed to operate, 220 decibels. After 12 minutes, the diver experienced severe symptoms, including dizziness and drowsiness. After being hospitalized, he relapsed, suffering memory dysfunction and seizure. Two years later he was being treated with anti-depressant and anti-seizure medications.

: Regards,

: Tim ==

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