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Дополнительные
материалы (Материалы предоставлены Ириной, студенткой НГЛУ)
MAN AND WAR
In a nuclear war no country will come unscathed. I agree with this statement. It is true that in a global nuclear war no country will come unscathed. As a physicist I can describe some post-effects of a global nuclear conflict. First of all, I’d like to speak about climatic effects. Besides the blast and radiation damage from individual bombs, a large-scale nuclear conflict between nations could conceivably have a catastrophic global effect on the climate - the “nuclear winter” effect. The nuclear explosions would throw enormous quantities of dust and smoke into the atmosphere. The amount could be sufficient to block off sunlight for several months (or maybe years), particularly in the northern hemisphere, destroying plant life and creating a subfreezing climate until the dust dispersed. The ozone layer might also be affected, permitting further damage as a result of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. Were the results sufficiently prolonged, they could spell the virtual end of human civilization. I can’t but mention radioactive fallout. It is produced through nuclear fission. Radioactive particles are invisible and so light that they may drift around the world endlessly without settling to earth. But at the same time they could be absorbed by precipitations (I mean rain, snow etc.) and fall back to the earth’s surface. Radioactive fallout can be of several types (tropospheric fallout, fallback etc.), but all of them are very dangerous, I mean biological and genetic effects of radioactive fallout. The long retention of nuclear bomb debris in the stratosphere allows time for some of the short-lived fission products to be dissipated in the atmosphere. In the case of tropospheric fallout, some radioactive decay occurs in the atmosphere, thereby reducing somewhat the radiation dosage to those exposed on the earth's surface. Long-lived radionuclides, such as 90Sr, do not decay much during the time spent in the stratosphere, however, and therefore they may exist for many years as a potential hazard, primarily through contamination of the foods that are consumed by humans. In evaluating the long-range results of fallout, it is essential to consider the genetic effects of radiation. Radiation may cause mutations, that is, changes in the reproductive cells that transmit inherited characteristics from one generation to the next. Practically all radiation-induced mutations are harmful, and the deleterious effects persist in successive generations. Moreover, many separate investigations suggest that if some human beings survive a nuclear war and a potential nuclear winter, they will probably be sterile. So, in view of aforesaid, I should say that fatal consequences of a global nuclear war will affect any country. Radioactive fallout and nuclear radiation reach any place of the Earth and cause radioactive pollution of soil and water. And it doesn’t matter where nuclear explosions are - no land will remain uncontaminated, no human being will avoid consequences of such a war.
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