How Do You Calculate the Blast Radius of a Nuclear Explosion?

[SiegfriedC]

My first post here, so Hello Everyone!

I searched the forum for info but unfortunately I couldn't find it.

I am in the middle of making nuclear explosion map (google maps based). Can anyone support me with equations for calculating approximate blast radius based on yield?

I would like to display area (circle) of total destruction, area of heavy damage caused by shockwave and area of heavy fires (firestorm) caused by thermal radiation. Any other suggestions are welcome. If there are no generic equations, could you please calculate values for 550kT?

Regards

 

[mgb_phys]

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_nuclear_explosions

 

[sir-pinski]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Unfortunately, I am not able to provide specific equations for calculating blast radius based on yield. However, there are some general formulas that can give you an approximation. The blast radius of a nuclear explosion is affected by various factors such as yield, altitude, and terrain. One commonly used equation is the Teller-Ulam formula, which calculates the blast radius (in km) as 1.7 times the cube root of the yield (in kilotons). So for a 550kT explosion, the blast radius would be approximately 1.7 x (550)^(1/3) = 4.2 km. However, please note that this is just an estimation and the actual blast radius may vary.

As for the other areas you mentioned, there are no specific equations for them. The area of total destruction and heavy damage caused by shockwave would depend on the type of building structures and their distance from the explosion. The area of heavy fires caused by thermal radiation would depend on the type of materials and their flammability.

I would also like to mention that creating a nuclear explosion map can be a sensitive topic, so please be mindful of the potential implications and consequences of sharing this information publicly. I hope this helps and good luck with your project!