3 ms·

I know that the comment is sarcastic but just in case, this will have the opposite effect, yes nuclear bombs will produce a lot of heat but that is for short am

I know that the comment is sarcastic but just in case, this will have the opposite effect, yes nuclear bombs will produce a lot of heat but that is for short amount of time and fires it will produce will last for sometime. But on the long time scale (months to years) the particles will precipitate in the sky and trapped and will cover most of the planet by radiation clouds which will prevent most of the sun photons from reaching the earth. So goodbye for planets and it will be the worst winter in earth's lifetime. Then you say small? But how can we have small nuclear war? The effects of any nuclear exchange will be seen throughout the world (not in geopolitical sense).

StopTheTechies 3y ago
I don't believe any of this is true—it certainly smells a lot like Cold War propaganda from the 50s. I don't believe we currently have anywhere near the nukes produced to have this happen even if we tried to perfectly cover the surface of the earth with nuclear explosions. To block out the sun we'd need something more like the volcanic winter of 536, continually erupting. Nuclear war is bad, but it's certainly not "end life on earth" bad, or even "end humanity" bad by itself, just "deeply fracture humanity and probably enter a new era of civilization" bad.
- rainbowzootsuit 3y ago
  Aircraft contrails have a measurable effect on surface temperature so you might don't need as much as one might think. https://globalnews.ca/news/2934513/empty-skies-after-911-set-the-stage-for-an-unlikely-climate-change-experiment/ https://globalnews.ca/news/2934513/empty-skies-after-911-set... https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielcohen/2021/01/11/bill-gates-backed-climate-solution-gains-traction-but-concerns-linger/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielcohen/2021/01/11/bill-gate... I'm sure he won't be a Mr. Burns trying to sell more power when reducing the effect of solar panels.
foobarian 3y ago
I don't buy this particular flavor of thermonuclear war scare tactics because the math doesn't add up. World's entire nuclear arsenal adds up to a couple of gigatons, while the Mt. Tambora eruption in the 19th century alone was estimated to release 30 gigatons equivalent of energy. The havoc a nuclear war would wreak on civilization is already bad enough merely through destroying infrastructure.
- ben_w 3y ago
  The mere energy wasn't the fear; the fear was nuking cities in particular would create the kind of dust that would get stuck at high altitudes, and put it at those high altitudes. I think this is… no longer a widely held fear. Though I don't know if that change is for good reasons or bad reasons.

StopTheTechies 3y ago

I don't believe any of this is true—it certainly smells a lot like Cold War propaganda from the 50s. I don't believe we currently have anywhere near the nukes produced to have this happen even if we tried to perfectly cover the surface of the earth with nuclear explosions. To block out the sun we'd need something more like the volcanic winter of 536, continually erupting. Nuclear war is bad, but it's certainly not "end life on earth" bad, or even "end humanity" bad by itself, just "deeply fracture humanity and probably enter a new era of civilization" bad.

rainbowzootsuit 3y ago
Aircraft contrails have a measurable effect on surface temperature so you might don't need as much as one might think. https://globalnews.ca/news/2934513/empty-skies-after-911-set-the-stage-for-an-unlikely-climate-change-experiment/ https://globalnews.ca/news/2934513/empty-skies-after-911-set... https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielcohen/2021/01/11/bill-gates-backed-climate-solution-gains-traction-but-concerns-linger/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielcohen/2021/01/11/bill-gate... I'm sure he won't be a Mr. Burns trying to sell more power when reducing the effect of solar panels.

foobarian 3y ago

I don't buy this particular flavor of thermonuclear war scare tactics because the math doesn't add up. World's entire nuclear arsenal adds up to a couple of gigatons, while the Mt. Tambora eruption in the 19th century alone was estimated to release 30 gigatons equivalent of energy. The havoc a nuclear war would wreak on civilization is already bad enough merely through destroying infrastructure.

ben_w 3y ago
The mere energy wasn't the fear; the fear was nuking cities in particular would create the kind of dust that would get stuck at high altitudes, and put it at those high altitudes. I think this is… no longer a widely held fear. Though I don't know if that change is for good reasons or bad reasons.